


The Silver Knight

by Shadow88kissed



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25335268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow88kissed/pseuds/Shadow88kissed
Summary: The war was won, and now the golden trio returned to school for their 7th year. The castle was reconstructed and ready to welcome its students. With Voldemort dead, shouldn't Hogwarts be safe? What happens when all the students return to school, and danger returns to Hogwarts? Who's causing it? Will there be a new hero? And can the dangers truly be stopped this time?
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood/Ron Weasley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 6





	1. Return to Hogwarts

The scenery of the train ride back to her second home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry put her mind to ease. It'd been a year since she'd rode the Hogwarts Express and half a year since she'd last seen the school since the battle, and in that time half of the school had been destroyed. It took the professors a few months to get everything back into order again. After rebuilding the school back into living conditions, they secured the school with the most powerful charms and spells that any wizard could imagine.

The school also had new guardians. Madame Maxine was now going to be permanently living on the premises of Hogwarts, so she felt that it was also her duty to help the school's security measures. Twelve of Madame Maxine's close (giant) cousins patrolled the grounds. Six during the day and six at night. Hagrid and Maxine had trained them over the past few months. Headmistress McGonagall had been wary of the idea, but when she saw that the giants were harmless unless harm came their way, everyone would be fine.

There were a few other changes, like one being the secret passageways. For the safety of Hogwarts, Harry gave McGonagall the Maruanders Map that had been made by the legendary Moony, Wormail, Padfoot, and Prongs so that all of the castle's secret passageways would be closed. Hermione could remember the times that map came into handy all thanks to Fred and George Weasley, but for all she knew, the map didn't exist anymore. It must have been shredded to thousands of tiny pieces. After McGonagall and the Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt and his whole team of Aurors did a detailed walkthrough of the castle, everyone found it fit and ready to be reopened to its new and returning students.

Nose buried into her battered copy of Seventh Year's Charms, Hermione peaked over the pages to look at her two best friends. Well, not only them, but their girlfriends as well. Over the summer, their first summer of normality, Harry and Ron had come across their other halves. Not as if would be hard for them now, since they were two-thirds of the Golden Trio, especially Harry. Harry Potter, the boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, The Boy Who Lived.

In one corner of the cart were Ron and Luna. Who could have seen that coming? They were both snuggled up reading the latest edition of The Quibbler that was focused on a new species of Mandrakes that supposedly sprouted different types of flowers from their stomachs when they found their lifelong mate.

In the other corner was the celebrity "Golden Couple", Harry and Ginny. Celebrity meaning that since the war ended, Wizard Journalists worshiped their relationship. They followed their every movement. Sometimes Hermione wondered if Ginny was just with him for fame because everyone knew how much she loved the attention. But then again, she knew deep down that Ginny really did love Harry, so maybe for everyone's sake, they'd have their happily ever after.

Ginny sat in Harry's lap, her fingers twirling a strand of his hair as she whispered into his ear. Hermione didn't know what Ginny had told him, but the uncomfortable stirs and faces of painful pleasure explained enough.

One of the newest daily topics in the Daily Prophet was who was Hermione Granger's mystery wizard? Truth is, there was no mystery wizard for her, not as much as she or the press could have wished it to be true. She sometimes wondered if there would ever be someone who could love her for her and not for being associated with the most famous youngest wizard of her time.

She enrolled back into Hogwarts to finish her schooling and hopefully earn a job at the Ministry of Magic. She was sure that if she was to go apply that very second that she would immediately be given a job, just like her two best friends, but she didn't want that. She didn't want to be given a job just because she was part of the Golden Trio. She wanted her knowledge and intelligence to be noticed more than anything.

The cart's door squeaked open which caught her attention, and at the door stood the old witch who pushed the sweet trolley. "Would either of you dears like sweets from the trolley?" She asked sweetly.

Hermione rose her hand and stood up. "Yes, please. A cauldron cake and a pumpkin juice." She placed a silver sickle into the palm of the plump witch and told her to keep the change. While the others stood to order their goods, she took a long swig of the juice and sighed in relief. Mm, the taste of the pumpkin juice refreshed her dry throat. Ron and Harry bought handfuls of treats and sat back down to share them with their lovers.

"So Hermione, how was your summer?" Harry asked. It'd been the first time since any of them had spoken to her since the greeting on Platform 9 ¾'s.

"It was okay, I suppose. I spent most of it at St. Mungos with my parents. The Medi's are still trying to restore part of their memories. They're halfway there, I think. They know that I'm their daughter and all, but in their memories the remember me being seven years old, so they have ten more years of memory to regain," She said with a sigh.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. That Memory Charm must have been really strong," said Ron.

She wanted to say something smart, but she just shook her head. "I thought it would be the last time I would ever see them. If I would have known what I did now, I would have never done it. I would have put them into hiding. Merlin, if the situation was different and they were fully aware of what was going on, I probably would have never returned to the Wizarding World at all." The four of them stared at her for a few seconds as if the idea had been ridiculous, but they finally shrugged and began talking within each other again.

Hermione found an empty cart on the train and changed quickly into her robes minutes before it finally came to a stop. She tossed her bag over her shoulder and stepped off the train. After a brief conversation and a bear hug from Hagrid, she stepped into one of the Threstral's carriages and sighed thankfully that it was empty.

"Come on, Harry, Ron," she whispered, hoping they were the ones to join her. Her heart jumped in relief when she saw someone stepping onto the carriage, but it was the last person she'd ever thought it'd be, and the last person she'd ever want it to be: Draco Malfoy.

"Well, well, Granger. Looks like you returned after all," He said with a smirk as he sat down onto the seat opposite of her. Oh for the love of Merlin. "I thought that the Golden Trio would be getting special treatment from the Ministry after the war. Looks like they're not counting you as one of the heroes, or Golden Couples at that."

She scoffed. "First of all, I don't need any special treatment, Malfoy. I prefer to be treated like any other. We both know what part of the war involved Ron, Harry, and myself, and what part included you. Secondly, I don't have a significant other because I haven't found anyone worthy of my time. Time is very delicate to me. And thirdly, you seem to be doing well with your fame. It's not going as well as it is for us."

Ha, she got him there. The Malfoy family was bashed daily in the Daily Prophet. Not only did his family lose almost everything they had, Draco's parents were also in Azkaban. Draco had been trialed as an adult as well, but with the help of Harry and a few members of the order, he was given a reduced sentence and was due to turn himself in.

Finally, one routine that made things feel a little more like home, pissing off Malfoy. "You're just mad that no one makes time for you anymore. What does anyone need you for now? Potter and Weasley don't have to argue over who's to shag you first since they've got their lads, so you don't fall onto anyone's list. I, on the other hand, have a list of witches who need me.

She shook her head. Is that all anyone one thought of these days, shagging? Sure, sometimes it passed through her mind, but it wasn't as if she even had the experience to fully think about it. She sometimes wishes she "Stop, Hermione stop," she mentally scolded was no use in mentally torturing her conscious.

"I don't need anyone to shag, Malfoy. Whenever the time comes, the right person will come along who I will shag, and it'll be the best shagging any of you have ever had. So if you'll excuse me, the carriage has stopped, and I'd like to catch up with my friends. I've wasted enough time being in your presence." She didn't realize how long the carriage had been stopped, but to her relief, once she stepped out of the carriage she noticed that a few were still unloading. Hopefully, she could catch up with the others.

All of the students were joined in the Great Hall and enjoying the feast. It was nice to be back at Hogwarts again. There had been some minor changes to the castle and some of the school's rules. One of the biggest changes was the atmosphere of the school. Fear didn't run through the corridors of the castle as it had before. Everyone was smiling and laughing.

She hadn't seen the other students this happy since the start of her fourth year before the Triwizard Tournament had begun. There was also a change in staff. Professor McGonagall was now taking Dumbledore's position as Headmistress, but there was also a new teacher for Defense against the Dark Arts. His name was Professor Rittle. He supposedly worked previously in the Department of Mysteries.

After all, the first years were sorted by the sorting hat, and all of the students were departing to their towers, the seventh years were told to stay behind.

"Seventh years, there is going to be a slight change to your sleeping accommodations this year. Your new dormitories will now be in the new Seventh Year wing, which is a new wing we have built that is located on the sixth floor. There are forty-seven rooms in the new wing. The dormitories are still separated by gender, and you have the option of sharing a dorm with one of your fellow classmates or having a dormitory of your own."

All of the students broke into a cheerful chatter, and after a few claps of McGonagall's hands, she regained everyone's attention. "If you could please contain your emotions, I would like to inform you of a few things that will be changing for you all this year." Her audience silenced, waiting for her speech.

"Starting tomorrow night, I will be selecting randomly two witches and two wizards to patrol the castle throughout the night while the others are resting. Next Friday evening, I will select two groups to become permanent patrolmen, and one of those groups will be elected Head Boy and Girl. This is a new form of security for Hogwarts. There will also be two professors on call that will be available if something must go wrong. Now, before I send you on your way, will there be any questions?"

Many hands raised and many questions were asked. After about fifteen minutes of obvious questions, everyone was sent to explore the wing that had been recently built. The wing wasn't very different from the Gryffindor Common Room which was the only one she knew, except that the Common Room was three times larger than the one she'd always known, and on each wall of the room was a fireplace, which equaled four in total.

Each fireplace was lit, but thankfully with fake flames. If they would have been real flames, the lot of them would die from a heat stroke. Each fireplace flickered a certain color, representing its house: red for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuff, blue for Ravenclaw, and green for Slytherin. The Common Room also had two pool tables and a pair of tables that had been set up for Wizard Chest. Other than that, the room was full of armchairs and love seats. The furniture's upholstery depended on what color flames the furniture were in front of.

After unpacking her trunk, she put all of her clothes into her closet and chest of drawers. The room felt as if it'd been built just for Hermione. There was a desk with a collection of quills and inkwells and an extra-large bookcase right beside it, where she immediately put her books. There was no doubt that she'd be spending most of her nights studying there.

Hermione walked back down to the Common Room to spend some time with Harry and the others. The bad thing about coming back this year to Hogwarts was that most of the students who were in her year had already graduated. Some had come back to study one more year, a rare few. Neville and Luna the rare few.

"Are you going to be taking Herbology this year, Hermonie? Neville asked her curiously.

"Yes I will be Neville, but not until after Christmas break. I already have a few extra classes this term so I decided to wait until then. We should have a few classes together. If you need any help with anything, you know I can help you with any free time that I have," she assured him with a smile.

He nodded happily. "Sure thing, Hermione. I'll defiantly need help with Charms and Potions. I'm glad that you've remained my friend throughout everything that has happened."

Aw, Neville. "I'm always going to be here for you, Neville. Anytime that you need anything, you know you can let me know." He nodded with a smile, and after a hug goodbye, he wished them all goodnight and retreated to his dormitory.

"Seems like Neville is one of the only one who didn't let fame get to him," Harry said shaking his head.

"You know Harry, he isn't the only one. I don't consider the war fame worthy. I mean sure, we went out of our ways to kill Voldemort. We succeeded. Well, you succeeded. You became our hero. However, once everything has died down, the media is going to find a way to just bash you later on."

She could tell that the truth bothered him, but she understood his situation as well. Growing up having nothing, being accused of almost everything, and finally defeating the person that took away everyone that he ever loved. He's the only one who really deserved it.

"I don't try to take it as fame, honestly." His cheeks were red. Hermoine could see embarrassment rising into his cheeks, and his eyes were watery under those circled spectacles. "I take it as an honor. I risked my life for the Wizarding World, and I won that title. I did what anyone else would have done, or at least that I think they would have done."

"You did what you had to mate, that's all that matters," interrupted Ron. He was right. There was no need to argue over this. They were all friends; they had been since their first year of Hogwarts. They were just letting it get to all of their heads.

"I think I'm going to retreat for the night, everyone. I hope you guys all have a good night. I'll see you guys in class tomorrow," Hermione smiled weakly before walking to her dormitory.

After changing into her favorite emerald gown, brushing her teeth, and pulling up her curls into a bun, she climbed into the familiar four-poster bed and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

She still had nightmares on a nightly base, but they were never the same. They sometimes reminded her of repeating episodes that sometimes aired on Muggle teles. The words Avada Kedavra echoing in the Voldemort's voice and the familiar flashes of green playing underneath her terrified eyelids.

Seeing classmates fall to the ground or Order members that she had considered family: Remus, Tonks, Fred., and if it wasn't that, it was red flashes of the Cruicatus Curse torturing peoples whose lives were already going to be scarred forever. Then, it was the aftermath of the dead bodies, her previous classmates, old friends, and lastly, Voldemort. Once Hermione would wake, she would wake up realize that it had all passed. That everyone was free. Free from the fear that they all had feared for so long, or so they thought.

A few days had passed since the students had started their new year at Hogwarts and ever since their arrival it'd been pouring rain. The castle had been dark and gloomy for days. Heavy rain and thunder sounded throughout the lonesome corridors. Most of the students were spending the rest of their afternoons in the library or their Common Rooms.

Hermione on the other hand was spending her Friday evening in the cold Slytherin dungeons studying for a Potions exam all of the seventh years would be having the following Monday. She wasn't the only person in the dungeons, thankfully. There were two younger boys, fourth years she assumed because they were standing over a cauldron of what she recognized immediately to be a Pepper up Potion and she remembered that she'd made the potion in her third year when Professor Snape was teaching potions. Slughorn had ordered her class to make a Hate Potion and to find the right ingredients to convert it into a Calming Potion.

She'd made both Calming and Hate potions multiple times throughout the years as practice, but converting one into another was something she'd yet accomplished, so she was studying extra hard to make sure she wouldn't fail.

"I wonder if adding Lovage herbs will help," Hermione thought aloud. After finding the herbs in one of Slughorn's storage cabinets, she took two Lovage leaves from the jar and crumbled them between her fingers, then sprinkled the remains into the cauldron. She stirred the concoction for a couple of minutes and the mixtures finally began to change colors; from a gloomy gray to a cloudy pastel blue.

"Yes, I got it!" She squealed loudly, causing the boys who were filling their vials with their finished potions to spill half of the brew onto the dungeon floor. She smiled weakly and muttered a charm under her breath to clean up the mess, and then started filling her own vials.

After putting her things away, she apologized to the boys left the room. The dungeon was damp from the couple days of constant rain. It was also darker than usual, and she noticed that some of the fire lamps were out. Every light that she came across, she whispered a spell to relight them. "That's better," she thought, rounding the corner heading to her destination of the Entrance Hall.

Students made their way down to the Great Hall for dinner, so Hermione took sat onto one of the benches against the wall to wait for Harry and Ron since they were usually the last ones to attend dinner. Fifteen minutes passed and she didn't see either of them, so she decided she'd eat alone, or at least until they joined her.

Eating alone had become more of a daily routine for her now or it had been for at least the past couple days. She rarely saw either of them anymore. She hated to admit it, especially agreeing with someone like Malfoy, but he was right the day of the carriage ride. They no longer needed her. The war was won and they were moving on with their lives just like she ought to be doing as well. The hard thing to accept was that once they were gone and enjoying their new lives, she knew their friendship would come to an end, and she would have to face her worst fear: being alone. Jealousy and sadness fled through her body. She felt a knot form in her throat, and tears puddled in her eyes.

She stood when the Great Hall's door slightly open, and stared at her friends who were already at the Gryffindor table. They must've arrived before she'd left the dungeons. No one noticed her, not even the other students. She let the door slam close and she took off running as fast as she could out of the castle.

Her boots sloshed against the muddy grounds, her skirt and tights were covered in chunks of the wet earth. She fell against a maple tree that was beside the Black Lake, slid down onto the wet ground. She grabbed her satchel into her arms, burying her face into the fabric and allowed the unwelcome tears to fall, and oh did they fall.

All her memories of this place, the good and the bad with her two mates, her brothers, played like a slide show through her head. Instead of the memories warming her, she felt as if she was being tortured with the Cruciatus Curse. After what felt like forever, the tears finally stopped. Her eyes felt like sandpaper, and her head felt as if it'd been trampled by the hooves of a Hippogriff.

"You are pathetic, Hermione. Pathetic." She looked down at her shaking hands that were covered in mud and were freezing from the rain. Her whole body was drenched. She didn't know how long she'd been out there, but the moon had already come out and the rain was starting to fall in thicker sheets.

Hermione cupped her hands together and collected a hand full of water and splashed it over her face, wiping away the dirt with the end of her sleeve.

"Granger!" A voice called from the other side of the lake. She stood up and looked around to see a blond figure walking inside the castle's gates, which was of course Malfoy. He was the only one who called her Granger.

"He must be coming back from Hogsmeade, but what does he want with me?" She thought aloud.

After a few seconds of digging around in her satchel for a hair clip, she twirled her hair up and clipped it on top of her head. She looked down at her uniform and sighed in disbelief. If she had to wash those garments Muggle style, there would be no way of saving the material- it was filthy. Before Malfoy could get any closer she took off quickly towards the other side of the grounds to the castle's doors.

"Granger I know that's you. Don't you walk away from me, dammit. I need to talk to you," he shouted. Hermione started walking faster, but she was barely halfway there when he caught up to her and grabbed her by the forearm and turned her around to face him.

"Leave me alone Malfoy," she yelled angrily at him, trying to pull away from his grasp. Of fall times for him to bother me, now wasn't the time. His hand was hot against Hermione's freezing skin. He'd used a charm that formed an invisible barrier around his body that kept him dry. Why hadn't she thought of that?  
"Well look here. I could defiantly call you a Mudblood now," he laughed hotly.

"Shut it you filthy slug, or I'll curse you like there is no tomorrow. I'm not in the mood for child's play."

Draco's laughter sobered quickly. "Whatever Granger. I'm only here because I have to be. McGonagall has been looking for you for almost hours now. She wants to talk to both of us."

"The both of us? You and I? What could she possibly want that has to do with the both of us?" This was absurd. McGonagall knew how much Hermione despised Malfoy, hell even she hated him.

"Look, Granger, I could care less. All I want is to get this shit over with, I have matters to attend. So, if you can go change, or if you want to go looking like the true Mudblood that you are we can get this over with right now. I don't have time to be spending with a twit like you." Malfoy finally let go of my arm and made his way towards the castle.

"I could care less about what you have to do. I'll go when I'm ready," she called at him angrily and stormed off into the castle, heading to the Seventh Year wing to shower.

Twenty minutes later, after she was mud-free and squeaky clean, she changed into a maroon thermal and a pair of silk silver sweats, cast a drying spell onto her hair and made her way to meet McGonagall and Malfoy. When she walked into the office she was surprised that Malfoy was already there, sitting in one of the armchairs, his fingers drumming against his knee. What an arse.

"Sorry I'm late Professor McGonagall, I needed to take a quick shower before coming. Malfoy said that you needed to talk to us about something?" Hermione said nervously.

"Correct. Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy. I've elected the two of you to be tonight's patrolmen. As you know, it's a new security measure we've adopted to ensure everyone's safety throughout the castle. Neither of you will be attending classes tomorrow since you'll be spending the night patrolling the castle. In front of me I have two vials of potion for each of you. It's a potion to keep you awake for six hours. It'll give you a sufficient amount of energy to make it through the night until your shift ends, which will be at six in the morning. After your shift has ended, you are to go to bed. Do either of you have any questions?"

Hermione immediately rose her hand and Professor McGonagall nodded her head signaling her to continue. She saw Malfoy's eyes roll from the corner of her own, and she gave a satisfied smug. She loved annoying him.

"Professor, will we be patrolling the whole night together? Or will each of us be patrolling different parts of the castle?" She prayed to Merlin that she wouldn't have to spend eight hours with Malfoy because if she did she was willing to commit suicide now.

"Good question Granger. I want you to patrol apart until two o'clock. Afterward, you will meet up and patrol until six. I want the two of you to meet me in the Entrance Hall at ten o'clock tonight so that I can give you your options. Now, if there aren't any more questions, you may go. "

She thanked the Professor for her time and walked quickly out of her office. How could this have happened? Both of them? Granger and Malfoy? That was a death wish waiting to happen. She would have to keep herself under control, keep her cool. Yeah right, within two seconds of being by his side both of them would be trying to rip each other's head off.

"Hey, Granger!" Malfoy called from behind. His footsteps turned into a quick sprint until he caught up with her, stepping in front of her within seconds, walking backward so that they were facing each other. "This is how things are going to be. You're not going to talk to me and I'm defiantly not going to talk to you. If you come across something while you're with me, you best hope to save your own arse, because I'm not going to be covering you. You also must be at least fifteen feet away from me, I don't want to go get any disease you Mudbloods so often carry."

She scoffed. "Shrug off, Malfoy. I don't need your protection. As a matter of fact, I think during the battle not only Harry, but I saved your arse multiple times because you were incapable of doing so yourself. So if you'd excuse me, I have things to do before I have to spend tonight with a worthless piece of trash like yourself."

She pushed him aside and walked quickly down the hall before he could try to catch up with her again. Hmph. Who did that boy think he was, trying to intimidate her? Ha, he made her laugh. Once she got to the wing's portrait she whispered the password "Caramel Crunch" and stepped through the portrait and took off to her room. This was going to be a very long night.


	2. Duties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war was won, and now the golden trio returned to school for their 7th year. The castle was reconstructed and ready to welcome its students. With Voldemort dead, shouldn't Hogwarts be safe? What happens when all the students return to school, and danger returns to Hogwarts? Who's causing it? Will there be a new hero? And can the dangers truly be stopped this time?

Minutes ticked by as Hermione waited by the Entrance Hall's staircase for Malfoy and McGonagall to arrive. The castle was quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the downpour of rain and rumbles outside. She sat down onto one of the softly padded armchairs beside the castle's giant oak doors, and closed her eyes, resting her head against the stone wall. She let the sound of nature's torture help her escape from reality.

The raindrops echoed in rhythmic patterns like the feet of marching soldiers. The thunder rumbled every so often, and every fourteen seconds a crackle of lightning would strike. When Hermione was little, she remembered that her father always told her that with every second that passed after each lighting strike that was how many miles apart the dangerous electricity was from you. She never thought to study her father's theory, because he was always right about anything, so she pushed aside the thought to contradict her father's words. It was one of the biggest memories she had with her father. Whenever she was younger, she remembered, they would sit in the sunroom of their house under a thin blanket, eat tea biscuits, and watch the rainfall.

She missed her parents, dearly. It'd been three weeks since the last time she had seen them, and it broke her heart to not be at St. Mungo's to help with the restoration of her parents' memories. She wished that things had never got to that point, but their safety was her priority. She wanted them to be protected from the dangers of the Wizarding World. Now that the danger was gone, she was going to do whatever it took for her parents to be the Grangers they truly were, not Wendell and Monica Wilkins.

The clearing of someone's throat brought Hermione back to reality like the shot of a bullet, making her jump up so quickly that she almost collided with Professor Rittle who stood before her. He stood there with hands-on his arms crossed, brow furled in confusion. Professor Jonathon Rittle was the new professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he was Hermione's most favorite teacher by far who had ever taught the subject apart from Lupin.

He was a very young man, only twenty-four years old. Dark brown hair, slate-colored eyes, and a slender, muscular figure. As far as his life story went, he told the students that he was adopted when he was three years old by a witch who was his mother's best friend. His father recently died and his mother was still alive, but they'd lost contact eleven years ago. He had a goatee growing at the edge of his chin, and he was stroking it gently as he stared at Hermione.

"May I ask what you're doing on the main floor this time of night, Miss Granger? You do know what time it is, don't you?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, professor. I was asked to meet Profe-" Hermione stuttered.

"Ah good, you're here," a voice interrupted coming from around the corner, and Hermione sighed in relief when she saw that it was McGonagall. "I was hoping that you'd already been here Miss Granger. Professor Rittle, is there a problem?"

Professor Rittle looked between them both with a slightly puzzled look but shook his head. "I assume not. I was wondering what Miss Granger was doing out of her dormitory this time of night, but my question seems to be answered now that you are here."

Professor McGonagall nodded reassuringly. "Oh, yes Jon. Miss Granger was asked to meet me here along with Mr. Malfoy at ten. The pair were selected to be tonight's patrolmen. I told them to meet me here so I could give them their potions before they began."

Rittle nodded understandingly. "Very well then. I was just finishing my round through the castle. You have a good night, and Miss Granger if you need anything, I'm on call. Don't hesitate to come to my office." He gave them both a smile before he disappeared up the staircase to his room.

"Professor Rittle is such a charming man. I'm glad that we've finally found a qualifying candidate for the Dark Arts position," McGonagall said with a cheerful smile.

Hermione nodded. "Not only does he know what he's teaching, but the subject seems to come naturally to him."

"That it does. Now we must wait until Mr. Malfoy cares to join us..."

"What about me?" Asked Draco as he walked unexpectedly into the Entrance Hall. He wore a gray long-sleeved sweater and a pair of dark jeans.

"Good timing, Draco. Now, time for both of you to get to work. Here," McGonagall pulled two vials of a violet-colored potion from the pocket of her robes, and gave one to each of them, "is your energy potion. Remember, eight hours is the only amount of energy it's going to give you. One minute after the potion is up, you both will experience severe fatigue, so I advise you to immediately retreat to your dormitories. Are there any questions?"

Both of them shook their heads, and with a nod and a farewell goodnight, McGonagall left them alone. One after another they uncorked their vials and drank them in one gulp. Hermione sighed, licking the leftover potion off of her lips. Mm, it tasted of tangerines.

"So…" she hesitated. "Which side of the castle should we patrol first?"

"You can patrol wherever you want, but I'm patrolling alone. I have to spend enough time around you in class, there's no way I'm going to be spending my night doing the same," Draco huffed.

"Look Malfoy, I don't want to spend all night in your uninviting presence, but I'm not going to let your sod awful attitude get in the way of me becoming Head Girl, so suck it up and let's get this over with."

He laughed sarcastically. "You think that I'm going to listen to you? I don't take orders from anyone, especially not a filthy Mudblood."

Hermione stood there for a few seconds, hands on her hips, her eyes glowering at Malfoy. "You know what? You're right." She nodded. "You can do whatever you bloody wish. I'm wasting my time here." She tossed the empty potion vial in a near rubbish bin and stomped off to the staircase that would take her to the first floor.

Just as she had expected, the first floor was as silent as it was any other night. The only sound was a portrait of an old witch sitting in an armchair sound asleep with a purring cat on her lap. She opened the doors of the classrooms, taking a quick peek before closing the door and continuing her journey. She didn't know why the school was under such strict security. She could have understood before, but now? Could there still be someone posing a threat?

A couple of hours passed since Hermione last saw Malfoy, and she was beginning to wonder if he'd just went to his dorm. What a prat. If he had, maybe she would get extra credit for being the only one to patrol throughout the night. "Perhaps I should go to the Common Room and see if he is there," she said aloud as she walked up the staircase to the sixth floor.

Hermione got to the Seventh Year Wing and whispered the password to the portrait and stepped inside. She was surprised at what she saw at once in the morning. There sat her four friends: Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Luna in front of the Gryffindor fireplace.

They were all playing Exploding Snap. They had a small table full of bowls of popcorn and what appeared to be several bottles of empty butterbeer, but what had immediately caught her attention was the smell within the room. Alcohol. Firewhiskey, to be exact. It was something she could never mistake. When she used to visit Hagrid he would always be sipping on a glass. Were they out of their bloody minds? Now wasn't the time to confront them, especially if they were drunk, but she'd make sure to do so tomorrow.

She shook her head and turned to step out of the portrait when she heard Harry's voice call after her. "Hey Hermione, over here!" He called, the others joined in as well, calling.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I'm patrolling tonight and I was just coming to see if Malfoy was in here. But I see that he's not, so I'll just have to see if I will catch up with him later."

"Malfoy, you have to patrol with Malfoy? I feel sorry for you," Ginny laughed, shaking her head.

She shrugged. "It could be worse I suppose. I'm basically patrolling alone since Merlin knows where he is."

"Well, let me walk with you until you find him then. I'll be back in a few minutes Gin, okay?" Harry stood up and almost fell backward onto the table before Luna caught his fall. They all started laughing once again and she just shook my head. They'd lost their marbles. Drinking on school grounds, how immature!

He regained his balance and leaned down to kiss Ginny goodbye, and she swore to Merlin that it was the longest, most disgusting, wettest kiss she'd ever seen. They resembled dogs lapping their tongues together, it was completely absurd. Finally, Harry and Hermione stumbled out of the portrait. He threw his arm around her shoulder and they walked -she half-carried him- down the hall.

Harry was completely wasted, there was no mistaking that. He wreaked of butter and cinnamon, and every few seconds he kept belching which didn't help the smell. Out of the four, Hermione knew the whiskey had to have been Ginny's idea. As far as she'd ever known, Harry, Ron, and especially Luna had never drunk in their lives. Ginny was the wild hair out of the lot.

"You guys were drinking Firewhiskey back there, weren't you?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer. "You have gone absolutely bonkers, Harry. How can you be drinking on school grounds? You know if McGonagall catches you, you'll be expelled for sure!"

Harry laughed, shaking his head. His spectacles fell to the bridge of his nose. "Expel, me? The Hero of Hogwarts? Very unlikely. I came with you I wanted to see how you've been doing. You rarely speak to Ron or me anymore."

Hermione shrugged and the continued to walk. "You guys are just always so busy with Ginny and Luna, so I try to just give you your space. I've been trying to get more studying in as well. McGonagall said that if I could get my classes done in time, I would be able to graduate by early and that Minister Shacklebolt would assure me a position in his office at the Ministry."

"Well that's amazing, Hermione. Hopefully, by next year, the three of us will be working there." She smiled at the thought and he hugged her closer to him. They continued their walk, and just as they got to the landing of the third floor Harry's grip became firmer. His fingers rubbed against her shoulder, and one by one she felt them starting to slip under the neck of her shirt.

She brushed his hand away with the side of her face because his caressing became uncomfortable. All of a sudden, Harry came to a stop in middle of the hallway, and she stopped in front of him, his eyes were glazed, but showed a small amount of fear she thought, but couldn't tell. The whiskey was hiding his emotions. "Harry, are you okay? Are you feeling sick?"

He stood there, staring at her, his green eyes were shining like emeralds. The next thing she knew, she was shoved against the wall. His hands gripped against both of her breasts, squeezing them hard and his mouth pressed hard against hers, biting at her lips and his tongue immediately demanded access.

What on earth was he doing?! "Harry, stop!" She squealed. Her hands pushed hard against his face, and his head only moved enough for him to attack her neck. His teeth bit hard against her flesh, and sucked so hard against it that it made her scream.

"Get off me Harry, STOP!" She yelled, her voice echoed throughout the hall. "You're drunk, get off me!"

"Come on Hermione, you look just so bloody good to be having to patrol the castle tonight. We're you trying to attract Malfoy too by the way you're dressed?" Hermione grasped the second of space he'd given her walk back away from him, but before she got far enough she tripped and fell hard back onto the floor, and Harry followed on top of her.

Regaining his strength, Harry straddled himself over her waist and grabbed her wrists, slamming them on each side of her head against the stone floor. She withered underneath him, trying to push him off, but it just aroused him more. "What in the hell are you doing, Harry? Stop, this isn't you! I'm your best friend!"

"Just because you're my best friend doesn't mean I'm not able to want or do anything with you. Look at you, your bloody gorgeous!" He sighed in delight. He held her hands above her head with one hand and then quickly hooked his fingers into the neck of her shirt, ripping it down to send the buttons of her thermal flying into different directions. His teeth clenched hard against his lips, and within seconds he attacked her breasts, sucking and biting the tender flesh. She cried tears streamed down her face as she tried to push him off. She kicked and wiggled, and finally, her screams turned into screams for help.

He let go of her hands long enough to hook his fingers inside the waist of her pants. Just before they were completely off, the echo of someone yelling "Stupify" echoed through the corridor and Harry flew twenty feet away, hitting hard against a stone wall. He fell unconscious.

A muffled cry choked in her throat, and she scurried up quickly, pulling up the pants that were just below her behind, and wrapped her arms over her exposed chest. No sooner did she stand up, she saw Malfoy running down the hall. No, this couldn't be. Malfoy of all people, the whole school would know.

"Granger, what the hell is going on here?" Malfoy stared at her with heavy eyes, and the next thing she knew he pulled off his sweater and pushed it over her head. He had a casual t-shirt underneath. "Put this on. Was he trying to shag you?" She couldn't speak, she could barely move. Her hands covered her mouth trying to silence her terrified cries while tears fled from her eyes.

"Are you an idiot?" She finally managed, shakily wiping away her tears. "He was trying to rape me. Do I seem like the type of person who would lay in the middle of a corridor to shag someone?" She looked down at her trembling hands than met Malfoy's eyes. The Mudblood as he always called her, she finally felt like one. She felt dirty, disgusting. She felt as if her blood had finally been tainted.

"We need to tell McGonagall what happened. She'll want you to stop patrolling for the night." These emotions were new to Malfoy. How could he care about the well being of a Mudblood? If his father knew what he'd just done, he would have been whipped until he bled, but he couldn't help it. There was no way he could watch something like that happen again, and not do anything about it.

He remembered that night in his room at the Malfoy Manor... that night when his father, wasted from too many shots at The Three Broomsticks. He brought a young girl, no younger than sixteen to their manor while his mother was away. He shagged the girl, abused her, even asked Dolohov to join in, and Draco had been forced to watch it all.

"We can't tell her, she'll s-s-suspend him!" Hermione cried. This was unusual behavior for Harry. He would have never done such a thing.

"And your worried what will happen to him after what he was trying to do to you? Are you that thick?" He growled, his silver eyes brewed a stormy gray.

"He's drunk. Harry and the others were drinking Firewhiskey in the Common Room. He would never do anything like that. His drink must have been tampered with." Or would he? She questioned herself.

"Just let me levitate him to the Common Room," she said weakly. She wasn't even confident with her own words. She wiped away the steady flow of tears that fell from her eyes and stood up from the floor, taking out her wand. "By morning he won't even remember what happened. One because he's drunk, and two because I'm pretty sure he will have a concussion."

"Bloody prick deserved it," Malfoy muttered. Hermione nodded slightly catching Malfoy's eye. That was the first time they had ever agreed on anything in the past seven years she'd known him. They walked over to Harry's unconscious body and she just shook her head. What was going through his head when all of this happened?

"Reparo," she quietly repaired his broken spectacles, and then chanted the levitating spell "Wingardium Leviosa." His body levitated into the air, with her wand held high, she guided them through the halls as Malfoy followed behind.

The mixed emotions that were going through Hermione's head were becoming overwhelming. She wouldn't be able to control them much longer. Her body shook as if she was cold. They reached the Common Room and she navigated his body until he rested on a couch. She stared at him as he rested peacefully. His expressions didn't show any sign of what had happened only a few minutes ago. She accioed a blanket from an armory next to the fireplace and laid it gently over his body, and before she could contemplate anything else, she turned and walked out the portrait to join Malfoy once again. Malfoy didn't say a word once she joined him, and she was relieved. She didn't want to talk about what had happened.. She wanted the night to be over with.

The silence was peaceful to Hermione, it gave her time to think about everything that was going on in her life. But for Malfoy, it was the complete opposite. The silence didn't feel comfortable. It felt as if the silence was crawling up his spine and causing chill bumps to cover his body. He felt as if the two of them were being watched, but there was no one in sight. Perhaps it was the former Death Eater senses. Always alert and ready to attack.

His thoughts went back to what he saw earlier with Potter and Granger, and it made him sick to his stomach. Why it mattered so much to him, especially considering that it'd happened to a Mudblood for crying out loud, but just the idea of something like that being done to a woman was disgusting, at least it was to him. Most might consider him evil, incapable of love, untrustworthy, but he wasn't as coldhearted as people thought he was.

His father told him the last time he saw him in Azkaban to never forget where he came from, that he was a Malfoy, a pureblood. The time he spent with his Aunt Andromeda over the summer had made him soft, vulnerable. Something that he'd tried to avoid.

A true Malfoy would never fall to such a low level to help or even defend a Mudblood. That had been engraved into his head since he was a young lad. He was getting tired of being judged because of his father's mistake. He needed to gain the respect of the Wizarding World so that he could succeed with his empire even if he had to stay underneath the shadows of such a vile name.

Finally, the time came for their night to end, and Hermione and Malfoy came to a stop in their Common Room, a few minutes before six. "I'm going to be taking my report to Professor McGonagall once I get up. I expect you to have turned yours in by then as well. I also want to ask of you, if you'll please not say anything about what happened tonight," said Hermione.

Malfoy shook his head. "First of all, don't tell me what I need to do, what I'm supposed to do, or suggest what you want me to do. I will do whatever I want and I'm going to report it. That's why we're patrolling. We're supposed to report what goes on throughout Hogwarts while everyone is asleep, and that's what I'm doing. You mean Hermione Granger wants to lie to the Headmistress? Never thought I'd see the day."

"But Malfoy, he was drunk. You know he would have never done something like that if he hadn't been under the influence," Hermione pressed.

"I don't know what Potter would or would not have done, I'm not his fucking mate. But according to you what happened is okay because it was accidental? What happens if he gets drunk again and does it to someone else? You know what? I'm going to tell McGonagall either way. I could care less about what happens to Potter prick."

"NO! Malfoy, please," Hermione begged, grabbing his arm to stop him, but he pushed her away, almost knocking her down.

"Do NOT EVER touch me, Granger, I'm warning you. You're not going to stop me from doing what I believe is right, so sod off!" Malfoy exclaimed, and with that, he stormed up the stairs to the boy's dormitories.

What was she going to do? Was she going to stick up for her friend, or was she going, to tell the truth?


	3. Hogsmeade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war was won, and now the golden trio returned to school for their 7th year. The castle was reconstructed and ready to welcome its students. With Voldemort dead, shouldn't Hogwarts be safe? What happens when all the students return to school, and danger returns to Hogwarts? Who's causing it? Will there be a new hero? And can the dangers truly be stopped this time?

"Hermione, I need to talk to you, now!" Ginny interrupted Hermione as she talked to Jamie Rivers, a fourth-year Ravenclaw. Hermione stood slowly and Ginny grabbed her by her forearm, dragging her away until they were outside of the Common Room. "What's wrong, Ginny? Is everything okay?"

Ginny scoffed. "Are you fucking serious? How could you ask such a question? Of course, everything is not bloody okay! You have Harry on the sideline of being expelled because of last night and you claim him to be your best friend? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Hermione shook her head, astonished at the low blow from Ginny. "I'm not the one who ratted on Harry. It was Malfoy, but thanks to Malfoy, I was saved by mere seconds from being raped by Harry. None of you seem to understand the fact that Harry was about to stun me so that he could have sex with me. I was half-naked in a bloody corridor, Ginny! How do you think all of this has affected me?" She pleaded.

Ginny laughed sarcastically. "You don't think we realize how desperate you are for their attention? Forget it. You're not the only woman in their lives anymore. My brother doesn't have to fantasize over you anymore. You waited too long to accept his love."

"I don't know where you're getting your information from Ginny, but I'm not desperate for anyone's attention. Harry and Ron are my best friends. I love them like family, but since they got together with you and Luna, I don't even see them anymore. Especially, Harry. You smother him. Are you afraid that Harry could find someone better than you if he wasn't constantly underneath you?

"Harry wants to spend time with me. I give him his space, but he doesn't want to be anywhere unless it's with me. He's making up for the months you all Horcrux hunted, and I don't need you in the way of that. So stay away from both of them." Ginny demanded.

The Horcrux hunt. That's something Hermione didn't want to remember. The conversation was getting them nowhere. She didn't know what she'd done to push away everyone. Her eyes filled with angry tears. "Fine, Ginny. Whatever you want. Your wish is my command. So, if we're done here," Hermione spat, and stormed down the corridor, jumping once the portrait slammed closed. And since then, everything had gone to hell.

A few days had passed since the night she patrolled with Malfoy, and things had only gotten worse with the ones she once called her mates. She was thankful that only a select few knew about everything that had happened, and it was only because Ginny had told them. She was terrified at the thought of Malfoy telling the entire school, but he'd thankfully not said a word.

The only highlight of her week was being nominated Head Girl. She tried so hard to show how much she wanted to be qualified for the position and she was thankful that Professor McGonagall had paid close enough attention to her. The only downfall of her new position was that the Head Boy was none other than Draco Malfoy. When she heard his name announced in the Great Hall, she lost all hope that the year would go well.

Heads were elected by how good the two could work with each other, or so she was told. If that had been the truth then how could they have been paired together? Both of them were toxic in each other's presence. It was as if Hermione was a matchstick and Malfoy was gasoline. Putting two together would make a deadly situation. Sadly, according to Professor McGonagall, their patrolling reports were what earned them their positions. Malfoy for his honesty and Hermione for her urge to finish the patrolling task the pair had been given, even after what had happened.

The Heads were given a small flat on the seventh floor. It had a good-sized bathroom, a small sitting room that was decorated in both the crest of Gryffindor and Slytherin, and two bedrooms that consisted of a four-poster full-size bed, a chest of drawers, and a desk. They were allowed visitors until eight at night and their rooms could only be opened by the password it was charmed with.

Hermione despised having to live with Malfoy. She didn't want to be within breathing distance of him, much less to be living underneath the same roof. She was thankful for one thing though, since they'd been given the ridiculous living accommodation, she hadn't seen him. Rumour had it that he had to spend a few days in Azkaban, to do more time against his charges for working with Voldemort. Hermione wondered if he would be given a different space to be in since he was still a student and all, or if he would be locked in a cell-like the other criminals? She hated him with all her being, but she wouldn't wish Azkaban on anyone. Especially someone who was born into a corrupt upbringing.

Azkaban was the living version of Hell. The place was horrible. It was dark, muggy, and it constantly rained there. There was never any sunlight and the inmates only saw light thirty minutes a day, and that was when dinner was served. Each day that passed you could feel your soul seeping from your chest even if it wasn't visible, and the insanity in your head rapidly increased.

It didn't take long for the solitude to drive someone crazy. Some of the criminals shared cells. Some were able to share them with their spouses, but it cost them thousands of galleons if not more. But most were alone, like Draco. Those who were alone were usually the ones who turned mentally insane. From their groans to sarcastic laughs or blood-curdling screams, it was truly frightening experience to live, and Draco was terrified that he was slowly losing his sanity.

Draco was sentenced three years in Azkaban. His father paid for him to be released, but he still had to pay his time. He had to check in five days a month into Azkaban, keep perfect grades at Hogwarts, and be on good behaviour, or all the galleons his father spent would be for nothing.

It was Draco's last night in Azkaban and boy was he was glad. His only entrainment was looking at his reflection in the mirror that sat on a wall above the sink in his cell. In just five days, he'd lost at least ten pounds. His cheeks were sunk in, dark circles shined underneath his eyes, and his face was as pale as a ghost. He felt lifeless, unable to feel emotions. At times, he wished the Dementors would just kiss him to get the agony over with.

This is not how he wanted to spend the next three years. Once he finished his schooling, straight to Azkaban he would go until he finished his time. Once he graduated, that would leave him 1095 days left to complete. If he was to spend all of those days, locked away in a dark cell, he would surely go insane.

It was half-past eight, and the sun just began to set. It casted an orange haze above the horizon, lighting up the sky as if lit by fire. The sun resembled a burnt orange fireball that sat in the middle of multicoloured clouds. The crimson colours began to vanish as the sun began to set, and a full moon began to rise. Distant howls could be heard from within the Forbidden Forest. Werewolves would be transforming tonight. A slight frown appeared across her face when the thought of her former teacher, former member Order of the Phoenix crossed her mind: Remus Lupin.

Outside the castle was the only place Hermione could properly study anymore. Before, she could stay hours at a time in the library. Now the place was always so overcrowded by other students that she needed to silence. She sat down at a picnic table inside one of the Greenhouses and then conjured a few tea candles to expand the amount of light around her. She pulled out two textbooks and a few rolls of blank parchment along with her self-inking quill. She unrolled one of the parchments and started on her first assignment: Herbology.

The night's sky began to darken and Hermione started gathering her things into her bag. Just as she was standing up a cloaked figure sat down in front of her, causing her to let out a loud squeal falling backward into a pile of a fresh pile of soil. The cloaked figure was Professor Rittle. He bent down to help her up and pulled down his hood. "Miss Granger, I'm very sorry. Are you okay? I didn't mean to frighten you.

"I'm fine, Professor. I didn't expect any visitors," she chuckled sheepishly.

She dusted the dirt off the back of her skirt and her hands began to gather debris from her curls before she could check underneath her hair, Rittle pulled a leaf from within her curls, his knuckles brushing against the crease of her neck, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

"Um, thanks," she muttered, her cheeks turning pink.

"Forgive me, please," he apologized once again. "Did I interrupt your studies?"

"No sir, I was just finishing up for the night. I have a Herbology essay due and I wanted to study in silence. What are you doing out so late, Professor? Getting a break from the castle?" She asked as she gathered her things.

"Yes ma'am. It's beautiful out tonight and the grounds are being illuminated by the moonlight. It's nice to be able to interact with nature. I like watching night flowers bloom."

Hermione sighed, nodding in agreement. Why couldn't the world be as pure as nature was? She glanced up at the glass roof of the greenhouse, looking at the bright moon that illuminated her surroundings. Everything looked beautiful underneath the silver light.

"See, look at this night bloomer," the Professor suggested, his fingers caressed the delicate petals of a yellow flower. "This flower is an Evening Primrose. They're used in many potions and Muggle medicines."

"Wow, it's beautiful," she said quietly, her finger touching one of the yellow petals. "I've never seen a yellow one before. I bet Neville would love to see this flower bloom."

The professor chuckled slightly. "He has one in his room. He watches it bloom every night. He uses it as a memory of his parents, hoping they can be reborn from the tragedy that happened to them. Or at least that's what he told me."

She knew exactly how Neville felt. Neville's parents had been tortured into insanity. She knew what it was like to see your parents in such a delicate state of mind. Hermione had to remove the memories of her parents and has produced such a strong memory charm, everyone was losing hope of it being reversible.

"I know exactly how he feels. It's hard not having family, especially your mum and dad. When your friends are like your only family and they betray you, it's even worse..." she trailed off.

"People gain their payback, Miss Granger, remember that." She gave him a slight smile in agreement. She looked down at her wristwatch and gasped.

"Oh goodness, it's half-past twelve. I really need to be getting back to the castle. I guess I'll leave you to your thoughts then, Professor Rittle."

"Of course," He said with a half-smile. Hermione always had a fetish when men smiled like that, it made butterflies dance in her stomach. "Would you like me to walk you to your dormitory?" He asked, breaking the space between them. His hand dusted off what appeared to be dust on her shoulder, and his touch caused her to shiver.

"No sir, I'll be okay. G-Goodnight Professor." She stuttered.

"Goodnight Hermione." He said softly, and with that Hermione got her bag and with a wave goodbye she walked back to the castle. She didn't know why she always felt so uneasy around him. He was very handsome and being within near him made her jittery. He was mysterious, and it excited her. It flipped a switch inside her made her forget about all the chaos in her life.

"Crushing on a teacher just like you did in second-year, pathetic Hermione. That's fifty points from Gryffindor," She sarcastically said to herself, laughing as she made her way to the castle.

The next morning a little after ten, Draco was apparated into Hogsmeade by one of the Ministry's Aurors, with his hands magically bound behind his back. He didn't see the reason being put under such security. It was as if he was truly a criminal, he hadn't hurt or kill anyone. He'd just been on the wrong side of the war.

People stared at him as they walked throughout the village, some shouting out things like "You should rot in Azkaban for working with someone like him" or "Let the Dementors have him". He tried to ignore them, but inside, the lashes everyone threw at him felt like a stab to the heart. Draco attempted to hold his head high like any other Malfoy would. Even if he had committed a crime, which meant having served the Dark Lord, at least he accepted it and was paying the price.

They finally got to the gates of Hogwarts and Malfoy was surprised to see Professor McGonagall waiting for him instead of Hagrid.

"Good morning, Headmistress. How are you today?" Asked the Auror casually as he released Draco.

"I could be better, Philips. There are too many problems going on-"

"What's happening at Hogwarts?" Draco interrupted.

"That is no concern of yours, young man. Now Philips, please give me Mr Malfoy's wand."

Philips handed over Draco's wand and Draco lunged for it, but Philips' reflexes kicked in and blocked his lunge, causing Draco to fall backward into the damp grass

"You don't snatch things out of anyone's hands, you prat," spat Philips as an angry Draco got back onto his feet, dusting off his dirty clothes. "She must have a good reason to want it."

"That's what I want to know, you bloody idiot! Why do you want my wand? I haven't had it all week."

"Watch your mouth, Mr Malfoy. I will not tolerate it. I will explain to you once were in my office. Now let's go," she said as she took a few steps up the pathway, then turned. "Thank you for the safe delivery, Philips. You may go now," Professor McGonagall said, frustrated.

The older man nodded. "If you need anything, please send me a Patronus." McGonagall gave him a meek nod and he turned away, walking down the road to Hogsmeade and then apparated.

"Now Mr. Malfoy, if you would please follow me." Draco wanted to shout a mouth full of demands at her and to snatch his wand out of her hand, but he just followed her instead. He was afraid of actually losing his wand for good. What could be going on at Hogwarts that she didn't want to tell him?

The gates closed behind them and two giants began to take their guarding spot again. A million thoughts jumbled through his head as they made their way through the castle. The only thing that had been on his mind before arriving was locking himself in the bathroom for two hours or more to scrub away the sweat, grime, and tears that littered his body.

Could someone be trying to interfere with security? Or was it something that maybe a student was doing? Or could it be the unexpected, could it be The Dark Lord? The latter was crazy of course. Draco witnessed the death of The Dark Lord along with the others several months back, but he still feared that somehow he could still be alive, and that he would come back and finish off those who betrayed him, and take over the Wizarding World.

They finally arrived at McGonagall's office. She whispered an inaudible password and the door creaked open. "Please sit in one of the armchairs, Mr Malfoy."

He rolled his eyes as he sat down in one of the leather-padded armchairs, his fingers immediately began to drum against its arms. McGonagall sat down at her desk and with a flick of her want all the owl post that was on her table began to separate into different piles.

After the mail was sorted, she pulled out Draco's wand from the pocket of her robe and laid it onto her desk. "What do you want with my wand?" He asked again. He was tired of sitting around and waiting.

"I have to see if you have cast one of the Unforgivable Curses since you arrived at Hogwarts," She said simply.

"But that's not fair! Just because I've been sentenced time in Azkaban doesn't mean I'm a real criminal. Hell, even when I served the Dark Lord I never used any of those curses!" He shouted angrily.

"Lower your voice when talking to me. Every wand within the castle has been checked except yours. The other night when you informed me of what had happened with Granger, Potter was taken to the Medical Wing for a mild concussion. Madam Pomfrey also said that Potter was under the Imperius Curse. His actions were truly not intentional," she said with a sigh. You could tell how tired she was. It was the first week back at school and things were already going wrong.

"And so you think I might have done it? I'm not thick. I hate Potter and Granger, but I would never do something as sick as that. No one should ever deserve that. Not even a Mudblood." He remembered that perfectly and it seemed that Harry's every intention was to shag Granger. Could he have really been under someone's control?

"Silence, Mr Malfoy! I haven't accused you of anything. All of the students, including staff members have had their wands checked and your wand is the only one that hasn't been checked yet."

Draco was going to protest but when the professor said the words "Prior Incantato", he fell silent. Instead of just showing the last spell he cast, it began to show the spells before it as well. Different coloured flashes of light came out from the tip of his wand, and barely a minute later McGonagall picked up the wand and handed it to him.

"You're free to go, Malfoy. The other students will be going to Hogsmeade today, you may join them if you wish. Do remember that your weeks' worth of work is due by Wednesday morning, and if it's not turned in, you'll be sent back to do another week in Azkaban." After that, her attention immediately went to the stack of mail that sat on her desk.

"So if you've checked everyone's wands and you can't find the culprit, what are you going to do now?" He questioned, interrupting her from her mail.

"Increase security perhaps, I'm not sure. It's none of your concern. Please retreat to your new dormitory, Mr. Malfoy. You need to come across your living accommodations with Miss Granger."

"Oh for the love of Merlin, the Mudblood. Who in their right mind could have paired us together?" His voice bellowed as he walked out of her office, the door slamming hard behind him. Living with a Mudblood, this would have to be worse than Azkaban.

Hermione loved Hogsmeade weekends. Not only because of the antique wizard shops and the people in them, but it was an escape from the castle, a well-needed distraction. Sadly, she wouldn't be having fun like the others because she was going alone.

She began her morning by going to the Great Hall for a bowl of porridge and went to the library to get a book to read. It was about the Azkaban prison, how it was founded, and what happened on the island it sat.

Afterward, she took her time getting ready for the day. She dressed in a simple navy blouse and white shorts. She tried taming her hair but the humid air just wasn't allowing it, so she pulled her hair back into a simple french braid.

Noon finally came around and Hermione was just about to leave when someone started pounding on the door. Who on earth could it be? "Who is it?" She asked nervously.

"Open the door, Granger," Draco yelled from outside.

"Oh, it's you," she muttered darkly opening the door so that he could come in.

"What's the bloody password so I can actually into this hell?" he barked angrily.

He looked horrible. His hair resembled a greasy mop; it reminded her of the way Snape's hair always looked. His clothes were filthy and he smelt of sweat and death. His fingernails had been chewed down so much that his fingers were scabbed.

"You look horrible." She couldn't help but say. People coming out of Azkaban could be very violent, according to the book she just started reading, and even if he had only been there a week, it always mentally affected everyone.

"And you look just as horrible as you always do, Mudblood. So what's the password?"

Then again, maybe it wouldn't affect someone who was already evil. "The password is "feats of feet." While you're here, we need to go over some rules."

Draco scoffed. "The only rules there is going to be is that you're not going to take all day to get ready in the bathroom. Other than that, while one is in there the common room the other will be in their room."

Hermione laughed, shaking her head. "You're not going to be making the rules. The rules were already made for us to follow. Keeping it clean, visitors until eight and sharing the bathroom. That's it."

"Whatever, Mudblood, get out of my -"

"Now listen here," Hermione interrupted him, just as he started to turn away. "I'm not going to deal with this Mudblood name calling every damn time I see you. I am a Muggle, with magic abilities. My blood is not tainted. I'm one of the smarted witches in this school, and my blood status doesn't make a difference. I hate you now and I always will, but you don't see me disrespecting you every second of the day, so stop," her fingers poked hard against his chest after each word, "calling. me. a. Mudblood. Got it?" She was fuming, her cheeks were red and her eyes were ablaze.

"Get away from me, you crazy bitch," he backed away, dusting off where she'd touched him. "I'll call you whatever I want."

"We'll see," was all she said, as she turned to leave the room, the door slamming with a bang.

Oh, how she hated him, the bloody prat. She made her way past the grounds. Students were in groups socializing happily, enjoying the summer day as they waited for carriages.

Hermione stepped into an empty carriage and within seconds three others stepped inside. "Hiya, Hermione. How are you doing?" Seamus asked, taking a seat beside her as Dean and Parvati sat on the opposite side of the carriage.

"Hey guys," she said with a huff, still trying to get over her anger against Malfoy. "I'm okay. I suppose, what about you lot?"

"We're doing great, actually," Parvati smiled. "What are you going to do in Hogsmeade today?" she asked curiously.

"Um, I honestly don't know," Hermione said truly. "Probably just window shop, drink a Butterbeer or something. What about you all?"

"We were going to get a bite to eat Madam Pudifoot's. I heard that she sells an amazing peach tart. It's been years since I've had one," said Dean.

"Hey, Hermione, where are Harry and Ron? I heard a rumour the other day that Harry has to do a month's worth of detention for drinking, is that true?" Seamus curiously asked.

Hermione nodded, a small sigh of relief left her chest that they didn't know what truly happened. "Yeah. Malfoy and I found him drunk in a corridor. He tried to fight Malfoy and out of nowhere appeared Professor McGonagall." She lied.

"Blimey, that's a real shame. So many things have changed since the war. But anywho, you should come to eat with us," Seamus interrupted.

The last thing she wanted to think about was Harry. She'd done her best to try and forget what happened. "You know, Seamus, I would like that," she said with a true smile. A constant chatter started between the four as they made their way to Hogsmeade.

A couple of hours passed as the group window shopped through Hogsmeade. Hermione stopped at a supply store to restock up on some inkwells and parchment and after they stopped at Honeydukes for some sweets, they made their way to Madam Pudifoot's. They found themselves a booth and Hermione sat next to Seamus while Dean sat with Pavarti.

She felt slightly uncomfortable sitting with Seamus. She didn't want him to get the wrong impression for accepting his offer to join them, and most of all, at a place like this where only couples went to. A young waitress came to the table to get the orders. Hermione only ordered herself a tea as she'd recently eaten, while the others ordered themselves coffees and a piece of Peach tart.

The boys began talking about a Quidditch match that was nearing, so this allowed Hermione and Pavarti to talk. "So…" Hermione pondered. "How long have you two been dating? She asked, motioning between Dean and Pavarti.

Pavarti's cheeks reddened slightly. Dean seemed to have overheard Hermione, he wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her closer to him. "Over the summer," said Pavarti. "My parents had an appointment at Gringotts back in June, and we saw each other in Diagon Alley. He asked me to eat and everything pretty much started there," she said timidly.

Hermione smiled weakly. Almost everyone she knew was dating or recently started dating. The teashop was filled with so many young couples that she was wondered how busy The Three Broomsticks would be. Maybe that's where all the single people were?

"You know," Pavariti whispered quietly. "Seamus isn't seeing anyone. Maybe… you know," she gestured towards Seamus. Hermione's cheeked reddened, not daring to look in his direction, hoping that he hadn't overheard her. "I'm… I'm not looking to be in a relationship right now," Hermione reassured her.

"Hey, you all," said a voice from behind Hermione causing her to jump. She turned around to see Harry, and her heart sunk. She did not want to see him right now. They all exchanged a pair of hellos, and Harry's eyes caught Hermione's. "Do you have a second? I need to talk to you. Outside, please."

Hermione sighed but nodded. She took the last sip of her tea, thanked Seamus and the others for their company, and walked outside with Harry. "Um… Where do you want to go?" Hermione asked.

"Let's go to the Shrieking Shack," said Harry. Hermione's eyes widened slightly, but Harry reassured her just to sit on the property and to be away from everyone else.

They followed the path, walking in silence. Never had Hermione been this nervous to be around Harry before. He was her best friend and she knew that what happened the other night was not truly his intention, but she still felt uneasy.

Once they got to the entrance, they unlocked the gate and walked up the hill. Hermione conjured a blanket once they reached the highest peak, and laid it down for both of them to sit on. They sat in silence for several minutes, watching the movements of everyone down in the village. "I just wanted to apologize to you for what happened. You know I would never do ––something like that to you, drunk or not. Don't you?" He asked her.

Hermione nodded, watching her hands as she fiddled with her fingers in her lap. "I know, Harry. I didn't mean for you to get in trouble. I just thought that it was the Firewhiskey that you'd drank. I begged Malfoy not to tell McGonagall."

Harry nodded. He pulled Hermione into a hug, holding her close against his chest. She tensed at first but finally rested her head on his shoulder. "You know how much I hate that git, but he did the right thing. If it hadn't been reported, who knows how long I could have been under the curse? Maybe McGonagall will increase security. It has to be someone within Hogwarts who done that. But who? The only person I could think of that would be stupid enough to do something like that is Malfoy. He was a Death Eater, after all," Harry trailed.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think it was him, Harry. He came from the opposite side of the corridor from us, and apart from that, he's paying for what he did in Azkaban. He just got back today. He's been gone all week. I don't think he would do something like that to risk himself to get more time than he already has."

"That's what he gets, the git," Harry said with a snarl.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I'm glad that he found us that night though. I mean, who knows what else could have happened."

Harry sighed. "You know that I would never do that to you, especially against your will, don't you? What happened when we were in the woods…"

"It might not have been a mistake, but it doesn't matter now. You found your happiness, Harry. You're my best friend, and I want you to be happy. That night in the corridor reminded me of what happened in the woods. I used to always get scared that maybe Voldemort would try to evade your mind during those times of intimacy, and I was always scared that something like that would happen when it was just the two of us," Hermione said, a knot began forming in her chest, and she dug her palm into it to try and get it to go away.

Harry started to speak, but she put her fingertips over his lips, causing him to stop. "Your happy now, Harry. You love Ginny, and she loves you. I forgive you for what happened that night, it's fine. It wasn't your intention. I think you should go look for Ginny now. If she finds out that you are alone with me, things will get more out of hand than they already are."

"But Hermione," he grabbed her hand and put it over his chest. "You know that-"

"I know that you love Ginny," she interrupted him. She knew what he would have said if she hadn't. "I'm fine, honestly."

Harry nodded and pulled Hermione into a tight hug. A few tears escaped Hermione's eyes, and she did her best to choke back the rest. Harry rose her head high enough and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "I'm always going to love you, Hermione, no matter who there is."

And with that, he waved goodbye and left here there on the hill.

Hermione plopped back down onto the blanket, wrapping her arms around legs, pressing her knees against her eyes as the rest of the tears escaped. It'd been so long since she'd thought about those nights.

They'd both decided to not let those nights of passion that both of them shared to turn into something else. Harry made Hermione promise that she wouldn't tell Ron, because it would end their friendship if he was to find out. And Hermione made Harry promise that he would stay with Ginny because if not, both of them would lose their friends, and they didn't want that.

And she knew if he wasn't with Ginny, there would be no way that they would be able to stay away from each other. Best friends or not, the attraction was already there, and the memories that they shared of the long nights of never-ending passion was a strong reminder of what both of them truly felt.

Hermione stayed at the Shrieking Shack by herself until the sun started going down. She looked down at her watch to see that it was a quarter past seven. The feast was about to end. With a sigh, she made the blanket disappear and walked back towards Hogwarts.

She wasn't in the mood to eat, so she decided that she would go back to the flat. She made her way through the castle, finally making it to the seventh floor. The flat she shared with Draco was at the very end of the corridor. Since she'd been reassigned her new living arrangements, she always thought that if there was ever an emergency, how screwed they'd be. Their flat was literally at a dead end.

"Feats of feet," Hermione said to the door. She stepped inside, closing it behind her. She stopped in her tracks, rubbing her eyes as she tried to adjust her eyesight to the limited light within the sitting room. The only light came from the fireplace to her left, and on the couch set a single silhouette that resembled a statue of marble, strumming a crying guitar.

She walked into the sitting room, taking a seat in an armchair that was near the couch. She took off her shoes and curled up, wrapping a throw around herself. She brought her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her chin on her knees as she watched him.

She'd never seen Draco off guard before. There was so little light in the room that you could barely see the surroundings. However, the paleness of his skin and his silver blond hair shined in the darkness.

The strumming on the guitar began to increase, he sat up straighter. Hermione could see the chiselled muscles of his back flex with each strum he gave to the guitar. His back was covered in thin scars that appeared to be nail marks. What could have caused them?

His fingers strummed so fast against the guitar, she was surprised that they weren't bleeding. The rhythm of its cries was so intense, that a shiver went down Hermione's spine. You could feel the intensity of the pain being released from each note. "Dammit," Draco growled as the music abruptly stopped.

The music stopped at once, and Draco threw the guitar against the couch, standing up, stomping at the ground. A cord had broken, and he seemed to have injured himself. One hand raked through his hair, and his mouth sucked on the tip of his middle finger on his other hand. Hermione could see that blood stained his lips, and she quivered, standing up.

She'd never seen him without a shirt before, or any boy except for Harry, and man was it a sight. You could tell that he'd lost weight at how thin he was, but every muscle starting from his shoulders to his chest, to his abdomen were carvings of perfection. "I can help you with that," Hermione said, trying to distract herself from the hot wave that'd invaded her body. She caused Draco to jump back so far that he almost tripped over the coffee table.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Malfoy snapped, regaining his balance. "How long have you been here?"

"I live here too, you know," Hermione snapped back, walking over to him. "I've only been here a few minutes. Do you need help?" She asked.

"I don't need the help of a Mudblood," He scoffed, putting pressure on his finger as he attempted to make the bleeding stop.

That was it. "You know what? I am so tired of this," Hermione exclaimed. She took out her wand, whispering an enchantment that caused deep gashes to rip into her arm, blood seeping out fast.

"DO YOU SEE THIS BLOOD?!" She screamed a little too loud as the pain finally hit her. She smacked her wand hand over the cuts, covering her hand in blood. She broke the distance between them and smacked her hand hard against his naked chest, then hard across his cheek.

"DO YOU SEE IT?" She screamed again. "IT'S JUST LIKE YOURS! It's the same filthy -," Her voice choked. Draco stood there, stunned, his eyes as wide as sickles. "It's the same as yours. There's no…no difference," her voiced turned into a whisper until she fell to her knees.

She covered her hand over one of the cuts, then looked at it. The blood dripped in streams down her arm. She looked at the gashes, and they reminded her of the Mudblood scar she received from Draco's Aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange. Her head began to spin as the overwhelming smell of hot metal took over her. She hated the sight and smell of blood.

"Dammit Granger," snapped Draco as he dropped to the floor, catching her before she fell over. He picked her up and laid her down onto the couch after moving his guitar. Hermione tried to push him away, but her head was spinning so fast that she felt like she was on a round-about and was about to vomit.

"You see…" she stammered. "My blood is just like… yours," she barely finished before she fainted.

Draco muttered a mouthful of profanities as he took his wand out of the pocket of his silk trousers. He muttered a spell to fix his finger, and then he took Hermione's arm into his hand and chanted "Vulnera Sanentur." The wounds slowly stopped bleeding and finally began to knit themselves closed.

He got up and walked to his room, and went straight to his trunk. He pulled out a small box that resembled a jewelry box, but once it was opened it was filled with many different vials of potions. He took one with cloudy grey liquid, and walked back to the loveseat, sitting beside Hermione.

He uncorked the vial, and grabbed her chin, opening her mouth enough to discard the contents into her mouth. He then began to massage her up and down her trachea to make her swallow.

"Come on, Granger," Draco said impatiently, his hand trembling as he shook her shoulder. If someone was to come here and see her like this, they would blame him and he would be sent to Azkaban for good.

Hermione started coughing and took a deep gasp of air before her eyes opened, looking at Draco. She looked down to her arm and saw that the wounds were almost closed, and then back up at him. His once worried face now carried a scowl. "What the hell were you thinking? You could have bled out!" He snapped, pushing hard against her shoulder.

Hermione shook her head, trying to curl away from him. "I'm so tired of you calling me a Mudblood. Did you see enough? Did you see any filth seeping from my wounds as I bled?"

Draco rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he stood up from the couch. "That's not what a Mudblood means, Granger."

Hermione scoffed, standing up, using the couch as a prop because she was still light-headed. "I know the definition, Malfoy. Just because I don't come from a long lineage of wizards like you, doesn't mean that I don't have the right to be respected as a witch. I may be a Muggle-born, but I've worked for my ass off to learn what it is to be a true witch, Pureblood or not."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I don't care about you've worked for, Granger. So, if you'll excuse me," He reached for his guitar that was on the table. Hermione took a few steps back to get out of his way, but her head began to spin again. Just as she began to fall back, he grabbed her and pulled her with such force that she crashed into him, causing both of them to fall back onto the couch, her on top of him.

She placed both of her hands onto his chest pushing herself up just as he lifted his body, his hands had met her hips to push her off. This caused Hermione to grind accidentally against his waist, causing a hot groan to escape Draco's throat. Both of their cheeks flushed red as their eyes met, and Draco quickly stood up. Hermione watched as he readjusted his trousers that had lowered low below his waist.

"S-Sorry," stammered Hermione as her eyes met his again, breaking her gaze from the growing bulge from underneath them. Draco turned swiftly without a word and went straight to the bathroom, the door slamming behind him.

Hermione shook her head, resting her head in her hands. "What a day," she said with a groan.


	4. Room of Requirement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war was won, and now the golden trio returned to school for their 7th year. The castle was reconstructed and ready to welcome its students. With Voldemort dead, shouldn't Hogwarts be safe? What happens when all the students return to school, and danger returns to Hogwarts? Who's causing it? Will there be a new hero? And can the dangers truly be stopped this time?

"Patrolling," Draco scoffed. He hated it. He didn't realize the benefit of having the students patrol throughout the night while the professors slept. Couldn't they hire Aurors or someone else to do this idiotic nonsense? He could be resting sound asleep in his bed right now, but no. He had to be out patrolling, and within the hour, he would have to meet up with Granger. Great.

He could be in his room sleeping, but he knew it wouldn't last for long. The nightmares he had were continuous, and they were starting to get to him. Not only was he losing sleep, but they were starting to mess with his head. The Dark Lord is dead, and all of his follows are locked up in Azkaban, along with his parents. What could possibly go wrong?

Draco sighed, slowly walking through the Dungeons of Hogwarts, checking each room or broom closet that he came across to make sure there wasn't anyone "hiding" in the dark. And he found no one. The only thing that could be heard was the loud rumbling of thunder and the rhythmic drumming of thousands of water droplets of rain outside of the castle. This was the third time it had rained during his patrolling duties.

Draco lost himself in his thoughts, a chuckle suppressing at what he found earlier. He found a pair of six-years going at it in one of the rarely used bathrooms on the fourth floor. You would think that they would have thought to use a silencing charm to prevent them from being found, but no. Draco could hear the moans of the Ravenclaw girl halfway down the corridor.

"Fuckkkkkk…." She cried aloud. As he got nearer, he could hear a continuous smacking. At this point, he knew exactly what was happening.

He quietly walked into the bathroom, to see a Ravenclaw girl being pounded from behind by a Ravenclaw boy who he knew was on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, but couldn't remember his name. The boy had her long black hair gripped tightly at the nape of her neck, thrusting as hard as he could into her.

"You like that?" He asked her, biting her neck. The girl whimpered, nodding vigorously. "Mmm yes, you are so much better than Blaise."

Zabini? Really? Do you mean that Blaise Zabini, shagged this Ravenclaw slut? Draco would never have thought that his old friend would have gone for a girl like her. She wasn't even that pretty.

He let go of her hair and grabbed her hips, thrusting deeper and deeper into her. "I'm .. I'm going to…" the girl cried aloud.

"Oh no you're not," bellowed Draco, causing the girl to scream as she hit her climax. A little too late, because the boy had pushed her to the floor, where she came from the intensity of the shag she received.

The boy pulled up his trousers as fast as he could and headed for the door. Draco tsked, shaking his finger as he cast a spell to paralyze the boy, freezing him in his tracks. "You know," Draco said with a sarcastic laugh, walking around the boy as his eyes watched the naked Ravenclaw girl trying to redress herself. "There are many ways you could have done this without being caught, but no," he sniggered, shaking his head.

"Looks like the other head was thinking this time, eh mate?" He said, pushing hard at the boy's shoulder, so he fell against the wall.

"That's going to be 80 points from Ravenclaw, and let's see, two weeks of detention and one week of janitorial duties?" Draco whistled, shaking his head as he laughed. "The rest of your fellow Ravenclaw's are going to be pissed once they see all of their points gone in the morning. By this time tomorrow night, the whole school is going to know about your two's randevu."

Draco undid the spell on the boy, and he took off running. The girl had just finished getting her clothes on when she took off running for the exit, but he stopped her in her tracks. "Woah, hold up now," he said sweetly, caressing the girl's chin. "How about a round two?" Draco said huskily, causing the girl to go pale in the face.

Draco doubled over in laughter at the look on her face. He thought she'd dropped dead right there. "Get the hell out of here and get back to your dormitory immediately. You've already been used up enough for one day," he growled.

He shook his head as he pulled himself from the memory, rubbing hard at the bulge that had hardened inside his trousers. It'd been so long that Draco had been with someone that he carried around a constant aching throb between his legs. He needed to release all of the tension that had been continuously building up for the past few months with someone. But with who?

He sighed as he made his way back up the stairs. It was almost time to meet up with the Granger prat soon. To his surprise, being around her wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. He hated the Mudblood of course, but she didn't continuously bother or pester him the way he thought she would, and that kind of bothered him. Why was she going all soft against him?

He'd made the attempt to stop calling her a Mudblood since the night she almost tried to kill herself to show him that her blood wasn't tainted, but apart from that, anytime she was around him she was either quiet all together or only spoke when she was spoken to. He was going to have to provoke her to get her stirred up. He didn't like seeing her all quiet and serious, it made him nervous.

He made his way to the fourth floor, and he found Hermione standing with her back to him next to the entrance of the History of Magic classroom where they were supposed to meet up. The corridor was dimly lit, almost as if someone had extinguished a few torches. She wore a pair of maroon pajama trousers, a long-sleeved white blouse, and house slippers. As he got closer, he could see the color of her bra through the thin fabric of her shirt: lacy and violet. She stretched as she waited, the hem of her shirt rising above her bellybutton. The hem of her pants rested low on her waist. His eyes traced over the perfect slopes of her curves until her shirt lowered back down.

A shiver went down Draco's spine, a warmth spreading through his body just the way it did the night she'd fallen on top of him. He couldn't stop remembering how it'd felt to have her body against his, even it had been accidental. The warmth he felt that night caused him to have to wank off in a cold shower because he couldn't contain the feverish throb. He still couldn't come to terms on how a Mudblood managed to turn him on faster than any other witch had ever done before, and he'd been with many.

He managed to sneak up behind her, standing only inches away. An aroma of lavender and vanilla came from her hair, making Draco's mouth water. His hand trembled slightly as he got closer. That warmth he felt began to intensify, and it was getting harder for him to breathe. "Sleeping on the job?" He growled softly behind her.

Hermione gasped, jumping back so fast that her head hit hard against someone else. "Argh, dammit," groaned Draco as he fell back to the floor, his hands covering his face.

"Malfoy! What the-?" She snapped, her heart pounding in her chest at the scare. She kneeled, trying to pry his hands away from his face, and once she'd managed, blood managed to squirt all over her face and shirt.

"Malfoy, you git! You scared me! I didn't-"

"You managed to bust my nose and my lip with that nest you call a head, dammit," growled Draco. He pinched his nose trying to stop the bleeding, digging into his pocket for his wand.

"I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, I-I got it," stammered Hermione. She pulled out her wand and conjured a wet handkerchief. She smacked his hand away and pinched his nose closed and put pressure against his lip. She muttered a couple of spells and the bleeding stopped.

Draco grasped tight against her wrist once she let go of his nose, and started cleaning the blood off of his face. He watched her closely, but didn't stop her. Her teeth bit hard against her lower lip, and her eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Her eyes were glossy, but not from tears. Her eyes were full of fear. What could she be scared of?

"I really didn't- you scared the shit out of me. I'm-I'm," she stammered, unable to get her words together.

"It's fine," he said with a scoff, pushing her hand away. She'd managed to get most of the blood off, he thought, when he wiped his face against the shoulder of his shirt and it didn't stain.

"When you're patrolling you're supposed to be on constant alert. Anyone could have snuck up on you," he said stiffly, starting to stand up.

"I have a cream in my dorm that will help to keep that from bruising unless you want to go to Hospital Wing. I can walk you there," she said, looking up at him. His lip was split and his nose was starting to bruise, but he was no longer bleeding.

"I can take care of myself. Let's just get this patrolling over with so we-" Draco stopped. He watched as she looked at her hands and down at her shirt at the blood that had gotten on her, and she started panicking. Her hands trembled as she tried to wipe off the blood with the already bloodied handkerchief, and she only made it worse.

"Granger, its just blood. We can stop by the room to get you changed," he said, trying to distract, but it didn't help.

She swayed as she looked at her hands, watching them as they shook in front of her. Fuck, he didn't need for her to faint. "Granger, don't you dare faint on me," he snapped. "Let's go to the room. S-Stop looking at your hands," he growled. He wrapped her arms around her body and he wrapped his arms around her, grabbing her wrists so she could move them, and walked them to the staircase that would take them to the seventh floor.

Once he managed to get them to the last landing, he rushed with her down the corridor, half-carrying her as she couldn't keep up with his strides. He was easily six inches taller than her.

They made it to the door. "Feats of feet," rushed Draco and once the door swung open, he rushed her to the bathroom.

He muttered a spell to light the torch inside and took her to the sink. Hermione stood there helplessly, unable to move. She was out of it. "Dammit," Draco swore aloud. He grabbed hand towel, wetting it with warm water in the sink, and started rubbing the blood off her face.

"S-snap out of it, Granger," Draco's voiced groaned as he started wiping it off her neck, lowering the neck of her shirt to wipe off her chest. He tried to distract his gaze from her exposed cleavage by grabbing her hands, and putting them into the warm running water.

"You're clean now," Draco said, his hands shaking along with hers as she tried to dry them off. "You're fine," he said.

Hermione took a deep gasp for air, coming back to reality. She slapped her shaking hands against her face, trying to shake herself out of her panicked stance. She looked at herself in the mirror and took a couple of deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. Her face was clean, it was no longer stained. He'd gotten all of it off.

She caught him staring at her in the mirror, his face masked with worry and concern. When would she have ever thought she'd see the day that Draco Malfoy would worry about her mental state and not make fun of it?

"T-Thank you, Malfoy," she managed to say, turning around to look at him.

He stood there just watching her, but finally nodded. The proximity between two was so tense that Hermione could barely breathe. "I'm going to change my shirt," she said, taking a deep breath before walking out of the bathroom.

He followed her out of the hallway, standing in front of her room. She hadn't shut the door. He stood there with his arm against the door frame, watching her. The right thing to have done would have shut the door, but he didn't against it, hoping that she wouldn't go crazy again or faint.

Instead, he watched as she raked her finger through her hair as if to tame it. She grabbed them him of her shirt and tossed it into a crate that was in her closet. He was right, he thought, as he eyed the exposed cleavage of her lacy violet bra.

Draco's hand raked through his hair, grabbing a fistful as he watched her every movement. She stood on her tiptoes, trying to take off a blouse from a hanger. The hem of her trousers lowered farther beyond her waist, and he could see a glimpse of the same colored fabric of her bra escaping from underneath her trousers, exposing the hem of her knickers.

Why was he watching her? He mentally kicked himself as he tried to pull himself away, but couldn't. She managed to grab a grey thermal from off the hanger, slipping it on, buttoning it up as she walked out of the room.

"Woah," Hermione said aloud, snapping Draco out of his daze. "Were you watching me change this whole time?" She said a little too loud. Draco's face flushed, stepping back.

"Why would I be watching you? I was making sure that you were going to faint over the least bit of blood. What is it with you and blood anyway?" He attempted to defend himself. However, as he looked down at her, his eyes went back to her chest again, and Hermione looked down to see that her thermal was only buttoned to the bottom of her bra, and she started to laugh. "What is it, Malfoy? Have you never seen breasts before?" She asked, shaking her head as she buttoned the rest of her shirt up.

Draco mentally whined, having wished she hadn't noticed it was unbuttoned. What was this? Why was he so interested in this particular Mudblood all of a sudden? Why was she having this effect on him? What he didn't realize, was that this was the first time he'd truly seen Hermione as the woman that she was becoming, and saw that she had a lot of offer beneath those clothes.

"Of course I've seen breasts before. Better ones than you can ever imagine," Draco snapped, trying to regain his stances. He crossed the hall, opening the door. "Are you ready so we can go finish patrolling or are you going to freak out at the sight of blood again if we come across some?"

Hermione laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe you didn't think that Mudbloods had nice looking breasts," she chastised playfully, shaking her wand at him playfully as she walked out the door, trying to make him forget his question.

They walked down the hall, and Hermione stopped, covering her mouth in surprise. She stared at the wall, and then looked back at Draco. "Did you realize that we stay on the same floor as the Room of Requirement?" She asked him.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course I did. But you know it doesn't work anymore."

"Have you tried?" Hermione asked, running her finger against the stone wall.

"Why would I? Don't you remember that the room was destroyed?" He said, wondering how she could have forgotten.

Hermione scoffed. "Of course I didn't forget. Don't you remember it was Harry who saved your arse from being killed that night?"

Draco didn't say anything. That was one of the nightmares that he had daily. Falling into the fire, and all of the people he loved along with him. He didn't want to remember that right now.

He began pacing back and forth, his eyes closed. He paced back and forth three times before a gasp from Hermione made Draco's eyes open, and to his disbelief, there was a door. "But… I thought," he stammered.

He looked at Hermione and she gestured him to the door. Could it really be working again? The past few weeks he had sought solitude, and it had literally been underneath his nose?

Draco walked to the door, opening it. Draco hadn't thought about anything specific while he paced, he just asked for anything to appear to see if it worked. Once he stepped inside, his eyebrow rose. Out of all things, why was it his bedroom at the manor be to what manifested in front of them?

"A bedroom? Of all things you could have thought of, you thought of a bed?" Hermione asked sarcastically as she walked into the room, taking in the view.

The room's image was exactly how he remembered leaving the Manor. An overly large bed sat at the opposite wall. The head and footboard were made of dark oak, the bedding was emerald silk. To the right of the room sat the fireplace along with his favorite lounging chair, a sectional, an overly crowded bookcase, and a cabinet that contained aging whiskey. On the left side of the room where the patio was supposed to be was an overly large photo of himself instead. He stood shirtless in a pair of dark jeans. His hair was messy, strands falling into his eyes. His hand rested against the back of his neck, and the other on his waist.

"I didn't think of anything when I paced out there. But this is my room. It's my room back home," he said as he closed the door, walking over to his bed. He grabbed the familiar fabric into his, it felt like cold water running through his fingers. He believed it to be over a year since he'd been home. After the war, Draco and his parents had just apparated outside the manor when a group of Aurors arrested them.

"So, you lay in your bed all day checking yourself?" Hermione asked, her attention studying the perfectly carved muscles of his chest and of his abdomen. Her knees felt weak, and her mouth dry. He looked like a god.

"Don't wet yourself," laughed Draco, shaking his head as he walked over to the liquor cabinet near the roaring fireplace. "I don't know why that is there. In my room, there is a pair of doors that open to a patio.

Hermione sneered at him, taking her eyes off the portrait. Her eyes fell on the bookcase and walked quickly over it. "Wow," she murmured, mesmerized as her finger traced over the spines of the books. "These books are ancient. If I had these in my room I would never leave." She pulled one of the books from the shell, skimming through it. It was a spell book from the late 1700s.

"They've been passed down my family for generations," Draco said as he approached her, handing her a glass of whiskey with ice. "Here."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the glass and up at him. "Um, I don't drink."

"For once in your life Granger, are you ever going to learn how to break the rules and live? You're of age, you know. Just because we are still here at Hogwarts doesn't mean that were children," He said impatiently, pushing the glass into her now empty hand since she'd put the book away.

"I'm aware of my age," she spat, walking over to sit in front of the fireplace. She swirled the drink around in the cup, watching the cubes spin. "People do stupid things when they drink. That's why it's never occurred to me to do so."

Draco shook his head. He went to the cabinet to refill his glass and walked over to where she sat, sitting down beside her on her right. He propped his arm against the table her back rested against, his other arm rested on his knee as he sipped the whiskey. Mm, it had been a while. "People do stupid things if they overindulge. If you drink it the way you're supposed to, it just becomes a stimulant that induces relaxation."

Hermione sighed, shivering as she smelt the contents. She finally plucked enough courage and took a large gulp. The contents burnt going down, but the lightness that she felt once it cleared her throat was appetizing. "I guess you're right," she said, pushing up the sleeves of her thermal, pulling her curls over her shoulder as a flush of warmth fled through her.

"Cheers," he said, scooting himself down to the floor. He clinked his glass against hers, and they both drained the remaining liquid from both of their glasses. With of flick of his wand, the bottle floated from the cabinet over to him. He refilled his glass and then refilled Hermione's. She glared at him as he refilled hers, but he just shrugged. Another cup couldn't hurt.

"You know we're supposed to be patrolling," Hermione said cautiously, wanting to take another drink, but hesitated. She was already feeling hot from just one glass.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Rules, Granger. It's okay to break them sometimes." He turned his glass up, drinking all of its contents, and refilled it. Her eyes widened. This was going to be his fourth glass!

She didn't say anything, but she watched him. He stared into the fire, a slight frown coming across his face. She'd never seen him this relaxed or off guard before, apart from the night she saw him playing the guitar. He wore a hooded olive jumper and a pair of black silk trousers, and house shoes. His head rested on his hand that was propped on the table, the other held the cup and rested on his knee. His eyes closed, taking a deep breath. When the opened, they were looking at her.

Hermione tensed under his gaze. She took another sip of her whiskey, trying to show her bravery by not lowering her eyes. She felt as if his silver eyes could see right through her, and her body burned and tingled with a sensation that she'd never felt before. Why couldn't he just look away? She bit her lip nervously. Her heartbeat hard in her chest.

The intensity of his gaze made her want to melt. Why was he looking at her this way? He watched her as if she was a puzzle as if he didn't understand what she was. As if he explores the mystery in front of him, put the puzzle back together.

"So…" Hermione croaked. She drank another sip to calm the dryness of her throat. "You haven't called me a Mudblood in a few days. Why?"

Draco finally broke his gaze, looking up at the ceiling and then back down at her. He took another sip of his cup and shrugged. "You almost killed yourself to prove that your blood wasn't filthy. And plus, the word's just not as fun to use as it was before."

She didn't know how to respond, so she just shrugged. She drank the last bit of her whiskey, and before she could put it on the table, he refilled it. Dammit. She was already starting to feel lightheaded.

"My turn to ask a question." He clinked his glass against hers. They both took a sip. "Why are you so scared of blood?"

The thought of it made her hands start to shake. "I don't want to talk about… that," she said, feeling a knot form in her throat, making it hard for her to swallow. She lifted her arm to wipe away a cold sweat that covered her forehead, and Draco grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her closer to him. She gasped, trying to pull away, but his grip on her arm was firm. He'd noticed it, she realized.

He turned her forearm towards himself to see the engraved scar of Mudblood that littered her arm. The letters were deeply carved, and although they were healed, they shined on her skin. "Is that why?" Draco asked, referring to the scar, his voice almost inaudible.

She looked at the scar, cringing. She hated it, but she'd decided against trying to get it removed. It was a memory she'd always carry with her, the night she was almost tortured to death in hopes of protecting Harry and Ron.

"Partially," she said. Her eyes filled with warm, angry tears. She wiped them away with her shoulders. "Another reason is while we were on the run, Harry got severely injured. He was bleeding out. There was so... so much blood. My arms, my clothes were covered in it, a-and I didn't-," she stammered, her throat locking at the memory. "I didn't think I was going to be able to save h-him." He didn't need to know that. Why did she tell him that?

She turned the cup of whiskey up, draining it. The glass was refilled and she took another large sip that drained half of it. It no longer burnt when it went down. The rush it gave her was now inviting.

Draco remembered that night of torture. It was agony to his ears. He dreamed about her screams for days as he watched his Aunt Bellatrix torture her for Potter's whereabouts, but she didn't budge. He remembered her eyes meeting his as if crying silently for help, but he couldn't do anything. If he would have tried to intervene, he would have been killed himself.

He remembered watching his Aunt carve the letters into her arm, spitting at the bleeding wound as she watched the floor puddle with the Mudblood's blood. He remembered the way Hermione thrashed to get away, and he remembered how the Cruciatus curse tortured her again, and again, and again. But she never gave in. She was going to die before she gave the whereabouts of her friends, and he despised her for that. How could a muggle have the courage to withstand the tortures she received and to await death, just for her friends? That's what it was to truly be a Griffindor, he'd realized.

"I'm sorry," Draco said in almost a whisper. His finger traced over the scar one last time before he let her arm down, downing two more glasses. He was starting to feel lightheaded, and he sighed with relief. Maybe tonight he would actually have a decent sleep.

Hermione didn't know how to respond to his apology. She sat there, watching him. Then out of nowhere, she put her glass onto the table and broke what distance that they had between them, so that she was sitting right in front of him, her legs underneath her, sitting on her knees. She grabbed hold of his wrist, turning over his arm. "Do you still have yours?" She asked softly. The bullocks that alcohol gave you.

He watched her, his heart pounding inside his chest. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. She bit her lip, something he realized she done a lot. No one had ever asked to see it. Those who had seen it cringed away. That's another reason why he hadn't bothered trying to find himself any company. No one would want to be with him, not with that on his arm.

He tried pulling his hand away, but she pushed hard against his free hand, putting it on his chest. "Stop," she demanded.

His hand began to shake in her grasp, his eyes not breaking from her. She was the one who broke their eye contact, slowly pushing up the sleeve of his jumper. He swallowed hard, turning his face the other way, nausea filled his stomach, creeping up his throat. The mark disgusted him.

A slight shiver went down Hermione's spine at the sight of it. She tried not to cringe, but the sight of it did intimidate her. She did her best to push her feelings aside as she traced the tattoo. "D-don't," groaned Draco, but she shook her head. The tip of her finger traced the outline of the skull, going down as she followed the body of the snake until reaching its head, trailing back up to the opening of the skull's mouth. "Does it still hurt?" She asked curiously.

He turned to meet her eyes, and his eyes were red and glossy. She couldn't tell if it was because of the whiskey or if he was trying to hold back tears. "Sometimes," he whispered, a scowl on his face as he watched her delicate fingers trace the filth that marked him.

"It's not your fault, Malfoy," she said with a sigh, her free hand clasping into his as she held his wrist. "You were scared. You only-"

"How do you know why I did anything?" He snapped, trying to pull away. This time she grabbed both of his hands into hers, and he squeezed them painfully.

"I-" she winced at his grip. "I know enough to believe that you did what you had to do to keep Voldemort from killing your parents. You're not evil, Malfoy. You're not like them."

Her observation made it feel like his insides burst into a thousand pieces. He felt weak and vulnerable. All the pain and the anger that he held inside managed to break into pieces, even it was just temporary, and all thanks to the muggle who held his hands in hers, observing them as if they were an open book.

He jerked them from her hands, causing her to jump back in fright. She went to pull away, afraid that he was going to hit her, but instead, his hand grabbed the back of her neck, and pulled her on top of him, his lips crashing against hers.

"Umph," Hermione groaned against his lips once she fell hard on top of him. She tried pulling away, but his grip on her neck tightened and his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.

Intensity and fire burned throughout her veins at the feeling of his lips against hers. She managed to pull away, taking a deep breath, looking down at him. His breath was labored, the intensity of his eyes wanted to make her melt. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted more, and she could tell.

Screw it, the alcohol spoke, and her lips met his, with the feverish intensity as before. Draco groaned into her mouth as her teeth bit hard against his lip, sucking the flesh into her mouth. Sweet Merlin, he thought, as his tongue intertwined with hers, the kiss deepening.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, losing her hands in his hair. It was as soft and silky just as she'd imagined. Her hands tightened in his hair, pulling him closer to her. He groaned again, breaking the kiss. He kissed softly against her cheek, her chin. He reached her lower lip, licking the reddened plump before biting it hard, causing her to moan aloud.

He liked the sound of that, he thought as his teeth grazed from her mouth down to her neck. His breath breathed hot against her ear, causing her to shiver in his arms. His tongue teased her skin and his teeth nibbling his way days as he suckled and tasted every inch until reaching her collarbone.

His hands slowly slipped underneath the back of her shirt, his hot hands burned against her back until the came back down to her hips. His tongue traced a slope near her shoulder and his teeth found a particular spot that he liked, biting hard, sucking against it, his hands gripping her waist, pushing her down onto him as he rubbed hard against her.

"Oh," she cried out, both in pain and pleasure. She moaned quietly at the feeling of his mouth against her neck, and her hips began to rock with his movements. Her nails raked up and down his back, and her mouth met his shoulder, her teeth biting against to suppress her moans, causing a hiss to escape Draco's mouth.

He pulled away meeting her mouth once more, his hands cupping her cheeks. His kisses were tender and started to deepen, and she pulled away, barely able to catch her breath. "We have to stop," she said.

He shook his head, pressing his forehead against her. She could feel a bulge inside his pants that began to grow as she rocked on him, and she defiantly knew they had to stop.

"We … can't," she moaned against his lips, as he tried to quieten her. This just wasn't right, they couldn't do this. "We can't," she said again and managed to break herself away from him, sitting down beside him.

Draco sat there, he couldn't manage to look at her. What had he done? Why did he allow himself to become so vulnerable that he would accept the caresses from someone like her?

"We need to finish our patrolling," Hermione said, trying to push aside everything that she was feeling. She looked down at her wristwatch, and gasped.

"We only have ten minutes until we have to meet Professor McGonagall at the entrance," Hermione stammered. "Come on, get up," she said, grabbing him by his bicep, but he pushed her away.

"I can get up by myself," he snapped. Hermione frowned as she watched him stagger. Is that what this was? Did he only kiss her because he was drunk?

Draco grabbed the bottle of whiskey, chugging down what was left. He grasped the bottle hard, swinging it as hard as he could at the portrait of himself, sending the bottle to burst into thousands of pieces. Hermione screamed, trying to protect her face from the shards.

"Malfoy, Malfoy please, calm down," Hermione begged, grabbing him by the arm. He pushed her away again, but she finally managed to get hold of him, and pushed him back until his back was against the wall next to the entrance. "Just go back to the room. I-I will let McGonagall know that you turned in early because you didn't feel well."

Draco scoffed, trying to push her away. "I don't need your protection, Granger. I'm perfectly-"

"You're perfectly drunk," snapped Hermione. She managed to push him out the door, the door disappearing as soon as both of them were out. She looked up at him and pointed at their door that was only a few steps down the hall. "Just go," she pleaded.

Draco watched her, his eyes full of so many emotions that she couldn't pinpoint which. Desire? Embarrassment? Lust? Pain? He shook his head, turned around, and headed towards there room. He gave her a pained look before stepping inside.

Hermione took off down the hall, running against the wall as a prop. The cold air of the corridor hit her like a smack in the face, making her feel more intoxicated than she'd felt in the Room of Requirement. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She'd just kissed Draco Malfoy. Where in her right mind would she ever do something like that?

She ran as fast as she could down the staircases, trying to make her way to the entrance hall where McGonagall would be waiting with their potions. Neither one of them needed them at this point. With all the alcohol in their systems, they'd easily pass out as soon as they got to bed.

She made it to the entrance hall, and McGonagall was already waiting for her. She doubled over, trying to catch her breath. "I'm here. Sorry… Professor," she said, taking a deep breath, standing up straight.

"And where is Mr. Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall asked firmly. "You were supposed to be patrolling together at this hour."

"He went back early," she lied. "He wasn't feeling well; he seemed to be running a fever."

The Professor merely nodded and handed Hermione her potion. "I will expect your report by this evening."

"Okay. Thank you, Professor," she said and turned to go back up the staircase. She heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that the Professor hadn't smelt the alcohol on her breath or noticed her inability to stand.

After what felt like forever, Hermione finally reached the door of their room. She muttered the password and stepped inside. To her relief, Draco seemed to be in the bathroom. Hermione got a throw off of the armchair and walked over to the couch, kicking them off and curled up into a ball onto it, falling asleep instantly.


	5. Boundaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war was won, and now the golden trio returned to school for their 7th year. The castle was reconstructed and ready to welcome its students. With Voldemort dead, shouldn't Hogwarts be safe? What happens when all the students return to school, and danger returns to Hogwarts? Who's causing it? Will there be a new hero? And can the dangers truly be stopped this time?

He's coming back today, she thought as she made her way to her last class of the day, Potions. She took a seat at one of the empty tables, taking her book out of her bag. She turned to the page that was written on the board and waited for class to start. Minutes passed, and the class began to fill up. Harry and Ron sat down on each side of her, and she gave them a weak smile.

"I finally found out why you haven't been coming around, "said Ron, gaining her attention. "I thought you were ignoring us because what happened that night with Harry, but Luna told me about what Ginny said. Just ignore her Hermione. You are our friend, and she's not going to keep you away from us."b

Hermione sighed, giving both of the boys a hug. Boy, how she'd missed them. She'd spent the past couple weeks spending most of her time in the library or shut away in her dormitory if Draco was in the sitting room. They hadn't spoken much since the night in the Room of Requirement. Both seemed to be trying to keep their distance, but they always kept running into each other somehow or another. Her emotions were a wreck anytime she was near him, and she didn't know how to make those hot flashes go away. His lips and his touch had left a mark on her, and she didn't know how she felt about it.

"Ginny wanted me to stay away from you all, so I listened to her. I don't want to cause either of you any problems in your relationships," Hermione frowned.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Luna and I are better than ever. Let Ginny get jealous, she'll get over it. It's not like Harry wants to leave her for you or something." He said with a shrug, taking out his book.

Harry caught Hermione's eyes, and they both blushed. If only Ron knew that Harry would leave Ginny in a heartbeat if Hermione would be with him, but they'd both agreed that it couldn't happen. "I'll talk to Ginny," Harry said, squeezing Hermione's hand. "We're all friends, after all."

She nodded in agreement, and as she was about to pull her hand away, Harry slipped a piece of parchment into it. Her eyebrow rose, looking at him. He shook his head as if to say "not right now." She nodded and put the parchment into the pocket of her blouse, nervous to see what it said.

Professor Slughorn wobbled into the room, greeting everyone cheerfully. "Good afternoon," he said aloud as he walked around the classroom. "I need all of you to open to page 638 in your books."

Most of the students already had their books open, however, a rare few flipped through the pages fast to find the correct page. "Today, you all are going to be making an antiseptic, or better known as a Wound Healing Potion. I understand that most of you should have done this in your sixth year, however, with the exams that are nearing, it is important that you know how to produce this potion. You will need to be in groups of three. Please follow the directions carefully. I must say that if you don't pay attention to the instructions, you can create an acid that will eat through skin and bone instead of healing wounds. You may begin," he said with a clap, and the class began to form groups.

Hermione grabbed both Harry and Ron's hands as if to claim their group, then stood up and walk around to the other side of the table, reviewing the instructions in her book. "Okay. It says here that we need Dittany, Lionfish spine, Rue, and Dragon liver. You two go get the ingredients while I read over this."

They both nodded and got up, making their way to the supply closet. After making sure they weren't looking, she pulled the small piece of parchment out of her pocket and unfolded it. "Meet me in the empty classroom on the fifth floor at 8 – H" was scrawled on the parchment. Hermione's cheeks flushed. Why did he want to meet her in an empty classroom when he could talk to her at any other place at any other time?

She shook her head, putting the note back into her pocket, and began reading the instructions. She was nervous to meet him there after what happened the last time that they were alone. She hoped at least that this time he wouldn't be drunk.

A couple of hours past after her Potions class ended, and she went back to her dormitory to drop off her bag before dinner. Once she got to the room, she heard a retching sound coming from the bathroom. She walked quietly to the door, putting her ear to it. "Malfoy, is that you?" She asked, and started to knock.

"Who else would it-" Draco snapped, and started retching again. Hermione gagged at the sound; she hated the sound of someone else vomiting.

Her heart skipped a beat hearing his voice. "Is there anything I can get you?" She asked, offering her help.

"Just… go… Granger," he said painfully. She sighed, standing there for a few minutes waiting for him to come out, but he didn't. Instead, she heard him brushing his teeth and then the water of the shower turning on.

"If I can get you anything, just let me know," she said before leaving their room and heading to the Great Hall.

Things had changed between them. Sure, they didn't get along and they barely spoke, but things weren't as cutthroat as they were before. It'd been lonely without him around even though when he was there they never really spoke. This was his second time going back to Azkaban. She could only imagine the five days of hell he must of went through while he was there.

She finally got to the Great Hall, and Ron called her over to sit with him. She waived at a few of her fellow Gryffindors before taking a seat next to him. "Hey 'Mione. You shou- tr- the Chi-kn, ish delicious," Ron said with his mouth full. Hermione shook her head laughing as she fixed her plate.

"Where's Harry?" She asked, looking around to see if he might have sat somewhere else.

"No clue," he said breathlessly, taking a large gulp of his pumpkin juice. The goblet automatically refilled. I haven't seen him since Potions. He's probably off somewhere with Ginny."

She nodded in agreement and began to eat her scalloped potatoes. "So, how's Malfoy treating you? You spend a lot of time with the git, don't you?" Ron asked with a scowl on his face at the thought of having Draco as company.

"Not exactly," she said, her hands started to sweat as she remembered the night he'd kissed her. "We don't talk much. We patrol together, but it's usually in silence. And when we are back at our room, we usually stay in our dormitory. He just got back today, from Azkaban. He was there when I dropped off my bag."

"You need to be careful with him, Hermione. Especially with him coming back from Azkaban. He could be violent, you know," Ron said with genuine concern.

She nodded and started eating again. She glanced numerous times at the Slytherin table to see if he was there, but he never came. After she got through eating, she realized that Harry or Ginny hadn't turned up either. She wondered if he still wanted her to meet him at eight.

Once the students started abandoning the Great Hall, she told Ron that she had to study before turning in for the night and made her way to the fifth floor. Her hand shook with nervousness as she climbed the last staircase, looking around to see if anyone was following her, and thankfully, she was alone.

She got to the empty classroom that Harry had requested for her to meet him in, and stepped inside, locking the door behind her. The room was dark except for one torch that was lit near the back of the room, and that's where Harry sat.

"You came," he said with a smile as she made her way to the table. Instead of taking the chair, she boosted herself up onto the table, looking down at him with a smile. "Of course I came. You didn't go to the Great Hall for dinner. I thought maybe you'd changed your mind," she said.

He shook his head, his hand rested on her exposed knee. She was still in her uniform, her skirt rested slightly above her knee as she sat on the table. She observed him, looking for any signs that he may be drunk or bewitched by any means, but she didn't see abnormalities. He looked like the same Harry that he always did. Broken spectacles, his shirt was untucked and his tie loosened, a few buttons of his shirt undone, and his hair as messy as usual.

"So…" Hermione pondered, casually kicking her feet. "Why did you ask me to meet you in a creepy abandoned classroom? You could have just asked me to go to the Gryffindor Common Room or you could have come to my room?"

Harry shook his head and stood up. He pushed in the chair and walked in front of her. She scooted back on the table, slightly nervous. "No," he said. He put both of his hands onto her more exposed thighs, his face closer to hers. "I asked you to come here because I can't talk to you about it with an audience. Hermione. I can't do this anymore."

What? She furrowed her brow, shrugging her shoulders. She tried to push away his hands, but they wouldn't budge. "What are you talking about? What can't you do anymore?"

Harry sighed, raking one of his hands through his hair. "I-I can't be with Ginny anymore, I just can't."

Oh no. Not this, Hermione thought, her heart starting to race in her chest. "Harry, we've talked about this already. We can't –"

"I can't be with her, Hermione. I can't sleep with her or have sex with her without thinking that it's you," He confessed.

"Harry!" She exclaimed, shaking her head. She tried scooting herself off the table, and as she did, he broke what space that was between them. Her skirt hiked higher up her thighs, and Harry was pressed between her. She tried pushing him away, but he grabbed her hand and brought them to his mouth. He kissed her fingertips up to her wrists, and then put them around his neck.

He cupped her cheeks in his hands, shaking his head. "Don't make me stay away from you anymore. I can't, Hermione. I can't stop thinking about everything that happened. Do you not remember? Do you not remember when I… when we," he said breathlessly.

This couldn't be happening. She shook her head, her eyes started to burn. They couldn't do this, they couldn't. They'd promised. He'd promised that he wouldn't bring this up anymore. They were friends, best friends. They could never be anything more than that.

She tried pulling away, but his hand went to her neck and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her cheek, his breath was hot against her ear. "Do you not remember?" His voice trembled almost more than his hand that held her close to him. "How can you not remember how we-" his teeth bit gently against her neck, causing an unexpected moan to escape Hermione's lips. "How you cried my name? Merlin Hermione, how can you forget how bloody great it felt?"

Frustrated tears fell down her face. Her body shook at his touch. His hot breath against her neck caused her to shiver, burning in places that she shouldn't. She tried pushing him away, but he held onto her tighter. She was confused, so confused. She started remembering the nights they'd spent together. Hours upon hours, they studied each other's bodies. They'd spent a whole night going at it again, and again, and again, that the sun rose and they still couldn't stop.

"Harry," Hermione said hotly, trying to push him away. "We will lose them. We will lose them all if you leave her. We can't. We- ahhh!" She moaned aloud. Harry sucked against her neck, his hand had slipped underneath her skirt, and began rubbing two of his fingers against her wet knickers.

"You see," his voice groaned. "How can you tell me no, when look how wet you are? You want it as much as I do." His fingers slipped underneath her knickers, caressing her wet slit before slipping his fingers into her.

Hermione groaned. Her hands propped her body against the table, her head fell back defeated as she bucked against his hand, mimicking his movements. It'd been so long since she'd been touch. Her brain kept telling her to make him stop, but the sensation of his touch had drugged her.

His free hand started undoing the buttons of her shirt, tossing her tie around the back of her neck. He unbuttoned her shirt, pushing it open. He licked his lips as he viewed her breasts. He pushed her back so that she was propped on her elbows, and his mouth went to her chest, suckling against her exposed cleavage as his fingers thrust faster into her, his thumb massaging hard against her clit.

"Harry… Please, stop," she cried. She wanted him to stop, but the pressure that built inside her wanted to release, and she needed more. She wanted more, but she didn't. She was so flustered and confused.

He pulled down the cup of her bra, massaging the mound into his hand, his mouth suckling her nipple. He sucked at it hard, his teeth bit it fearfully, causing her to cry out. "Harry… Harry," her voice rasped. He felt her walls close tight around him, and his fingers thrust faster into her, his thumb massaging her clit so fast that she released against his fingers. "Merlin Hermione," he groaned. He pulled them out of her and brought them to his nose, smelling her.

She watched him breathless. Her cheeks were burning red. She didn't want it to happen. She'd wanted him to stop, but the pain when he bit her sent her over the edge. She tried to move off the table, but he stopped her. He started unbuckling his pants, pulling out his hardened shaft, moistening the head with her juices.

He caressed himself with her wetness and pushed aside her knickers as he positioned himself against her. "I need you," he groaned. She shook her head, trying to push him away. "Harry, no. Please, stop," she cried. Tears were now falling down her face. "We can't do this."

"No, I can't. I can't stop. I need to feel. Merlin Hermione, it's been so long," he said. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and slammed into her, both crying out a groan in union.

His thrusts were violent, needy. Hermione didn't remember it being this way with him before. They'd gotten wild, but not like this. He pushed her back hard against the table, putting her legs over his shoulders. He pulled all but his head out her, and thrust hard back into her, causing her to cry out in pain.

He grabbed both of her wrists tight in his hands, and grasped both sides of the table on each side of her head, pushing himself as deep into her as he could, his waist thrusting feverishly into the tightness. She didn't want this. She kept trying to push him away, but it was no use. He was hurting her.

He tried to kiss Hermione, but she kept moving her face, so he attacked her neck instead. She could feel the bruises forming as he bit and sucked her neck, but she didn't bother pushing him away. She didn't want this. She wasn't enjoying it at all

"Mm Hermione. Merlin, you're so tight." he cried. He pounded faster, and faster until the pressure started building inside him. "Nothing… nothing let Ginny. Merlin, it's been so long," he groaned, his teeth biting hard against her shoulder. Hermione cried out a groan in pain, and this sent him over the edge. "Hermione, I'm... I-I'm going to come," he groaned aloud, and with one last thrust, he growled in defeat, as his juices released into her.

He fell against her chest, wasted as he tried to catch his breath. Hermione laid there, unable to move. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She couldn't believe that she had allowed him to take advantage of her when she didn't want it.

"You felt just as I remembered, if not better," Harry said breathlessly. His lips kissing against her breasts until his lips met hers.

Hermione shook her head and started to raise up, finally managing to push him off. Her hands shook in anger as she tried buttoning up her shirt. Harry buckled his pants and tried to pull her to him, but she pulled

"You thought wrong!" Hermione spat, tears streaming down her face. She looked at him, his face a mask of fear. "I told you no, Harry. I told you we couldn't do this! I told you I didn't want it, and you didn't listen!"

His eyes widened and tried to get closer to her, but she shook her head, walking away. "But you came. I thought you wanted to."

"I came because you finger fucked me, Harry!" She yelled, disgusted at the words that came from her mouth. She never spoke like that. "You took advantage of me. I can't believe you."

"Come on, Hermione. That's not fair. You wanted it just as much as I did. You want me just as much as I want you," he said getting annoyed.

"No." She said, shaking her finger back and forth. "That's where you're wrong. I love you, Harry, I do. You are my best friend and I will always love you. But we both decided that we would not do this ever again. We both promised that we wouldn't. No matter what happened before, that we would move on, and leave it in the past. And that's what I've been trying to do."

Harry's eyes were full of desperation. "I can't be with her anymore, Hermione. I love you! How hard is it for you to understand and accept that?"

"AND HOW HARD IS IT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT I. DON'T. WANT YOU!" She bellowed through tears. "I don't want you, Harry. I don't! If you can't be with her, then find someone else. Because you can't be with me. We can't, and we won't. I will not lose my friends, and I will not risk my friendship without just to become romantically involved. I won't!"

And with that, she stormed out of the classroom and ran as fast as she could to her room.

Back in their room, Draco lounged in the dimly lit sitting room, with books and rolls of parchment all round him. He rolled his neck, sighing at the feeling of the aching tension in his shoulders. He was so behind in everything that he didn't know how he would ever get caught up. It'd been a few hours since he'd been released from Azkaban, and he was exhausted.

He'd spent another five days in the mouth of hell, and he hated every moment of it. He thought with time that it would be easier going back and doing his time, but it felt like it was getting harder and harder each time he was there. With no light and no company, he was starting to go crazy. On his fourth day, he started hallucinating, and they had to give him a potion to calm him down because he started screaming bloody murder that the dark mark was burning, and he was being called. And in his dreams, the memory of the kisses he shared with Granger developed into something more, and he woke up the next morning wet and spent. He couldn't believe that he'd had a wet dream with Granger of all people.

What is that damn ingredient? He thought, smacking the feather of his quill against his cheek as he tried to remember the last ingredient that had to be used in the Wound Healing Potion that the class had done today before he returned.

"Dragon liver, that's it!" He said aloud, punching the air in trump and started writing. He was almost finished with his essay when the door crashed open, causing Draco to jump, and his quill ripped through the parchment. "Damn you, Granger!" He yelled as he stood up, throwing his stuff down onto the couch.

She slammed the door closed. When she stepped inside, he saw that her uniform was wrinkled, one of her stockings was halfway down her leg, and her hair was more of a mess than usual. And even with the little light, he could see bruises covered her neck.

"Well, Granger," he stifled a laugh, crossing his arm over his cheek, his other hand resting under his chin. He made his way to her, shaking his head. "Get a little randy tonight, did you?"

Hermione looked at eyes, and his heart sank. Her hand covered her mouth as she tried to silence her sobs. Her eyes were bloodshot, and he could see light bruises forming on her wrist. "Granger? What happened to you?" He asked in shock, making his way to her.

"D-don't," She stammered, trying to move away. He broke the distance and had barley grabbed her arm once she took off running to the bathroom, locking herself inside.

"Granger!" Draco yelled, striding fast to the bathroom. He jiggled the handle, knocking hard. "Granger, open up! What the hell happened to you?!"

"Just leave me alone!" Hermione cried. She turned on the shower, taking off her clothes, and stepped inside into the scalding water. She grabbed a bar of soap and started scrubbing her body as hard as she could. She felt disgusting. She felt dirty. Embarrassed. Violated.

Draco banged on the door again and again. He sighed, leaning against it as he heard the water. Who had done this to her? What had they done to her? He didn't know why he cared so much. What did it matter if she was covered in love marks and disheveled from a shag? That didn't matter. What mattered was that she was crying and that she had bruises on her wrists. Those were defiantly not love marks.

After what felt like forever, he heard the water stop running. He heard her get out, and he could hear her drying herself off as she still tried to hold back sobs. He tried to imagine what she looked like all wet and naked but shook his head. He couldn't think of that right now, not while she was in there after who knows what had happened to her.

He knocked on the door again, but she didn't answer. Screw it, he thought. "Alohomora," he chanted, pointing his wand at the door handle. The lock on the door turned, and he pushed himself inside.

Hermione sat with her back against the stone wall on the floor, an oversized towel wrapped around her body, her arms wrapped around her legs, and her head rested on her knees. She looked up at him as he entered, then turned to hide her face. Her wet hair served as a curtain to hide her, drops of water falling down her arm and onto the floor.

He kneeled down, his hand slipping underneath her wet hair, trying to pull her chin up. He managed to lift her face, and she looked pitiful. Her eyes were bloodshot and full of tears. He moved her hair off her neck to see not only large, dark love marks, but bite marks on both of her shoulders, and on what part of her chest he could see.

She pulled away from him, straightening out her legs, putting the weight of her back against the wall. She stared straight ahead as the silent tears fell from her eyes. Draco changed his position so that he was sitting on the damp floor, studying her. "Who done this to you?" He asked.

Hermione just shook her head. She raked her hand through her wet curls, tossing them over her shoulder. The marks shined on her neck and seemed to be getting darker by the minute. He caught sight of her wrist, and several light purple brushes were forming. The sight of her like this made him sick to his stomach.

"Was it Potter?" Draco asked. Her head jerked to look at him, her eyes refilling with new tears. She hated this. She hated that he cared. This was the time she wished he was here mocking her instead of pitying her. She didn't want his sympathy. This was her fall. It was all her fault.

She opened her mouth to answer, but the words didn't come. Finally, she just nodded, answering his question. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and once she regained focus, his face was a mask of anger.

"You have to report this. This is the second time that he's attempted to hurt you. Did you allow this? Did you want him to touch you?" He asked.

Hermione swallowed hard, shaking her head. "I told him no. I told him to stop, but he didn't listen. I could have done more, I suppose, but I just gave up. But I can't report him. He's my friend."

Draco hissed, shaking his head. "But why?!" He exclaimed, causing her to jump. "If you say no, it means no. Why would you let someone do something like this to you if you didn't want it?"

She shrugged, shaking her head. He'd caught her off-guard when he touched her. It felt so good to be touched, to feel that desire of a release from all the tension that she'd accumulated the past few months, but she hadn't wanted it.

"If he was your friend, why would he do this to you? I have never seen a friend shag and take advantage of one another. I may be twisted in some ways, but that is sick, Granger," Draco said, loss at words.

Hermione didn't know what to say. She just shook her head, resting her face in her hands. She didn't know what to do anymore. They had discussed this multiple times that they couldn't be together. Why couldn't he understand? Things had been good for months, and suddenly, as soon as they returned, Harry loses his marbles.

"I'm assuming that this isn't the first time that things have happened between you two?" Draco asked with a scowl. He couldn't bring himself to think of Granger and Potter going at it.

Her brows furrowed at the question. She didn't need to give him any explanations. But she finally sighed, shaking her head. It was true after all. "No, it's not the first time. But it wasn't supposed to ever happen again."

Draco shook his head. He couldn't believe his ears. He believed her to be a virgin. He couldn't believe that it was Potter instead of Weasley who had slept with her. Hell, how did he know if the Weasel hadn't gone at it too?

"So, it wasn't supposed to ever happen again, but it happened, and you told him no? Am I understanding this correctly?" He asked trying to put the piece together.

She nodded, and Draco growled a string of profanities under his breath. It reminded him of the witch his father had raped in front of him when he was younger. "If he shagged you against your consent Granger, you do realize that is rape, don't you?"

Hermione nodded, her eyes filling with tears again. She felt disgusted with herself. Why didn't she push him away or fight him off? Hell, why hadn't she used her wand to hex him away? She let him use her because he "needed it." What type of pathetic excuse was that?

"Granger, Granger, Granger," Draco heaved a sigh, and she started to cry more. He didn't know how to comfort her. He didn't know why he wanted to comfort her. This was Hermione Granger, the Mudblood, one-third of the Golden Trio for crying out loud? Why did he care about what happened to her? He wasn't supposed to care. He was turning soft, and he didn't' like it.

"Wait here," he said, standing up. He went to his room and retrieved a jar and a vial from his trunk. He grabbed his robe that hung on the back of his door and went back to the bathroom. "Get up," he said, holding out his hand.

Hermione looked up at him, shaking his head. He swore under his breath and grabbed her by the arm, lifting her off the floor. "Malfoy just leave-"

"Shut up," Draco snapped. He put his robe over her shoulders, making her put her arms through the arms. Once he adjusted it to cover her chest, he pulled her towel down causing her to yell and smack at his chest. Draco managed to tighten the robe around her waist without seeing a thing, and he gave Hermione the vial. "Drink this."

Hermione glared at him, taking the vial into her hand. She turned the vial upside down, swirling it around, studying the contents to make sure that it wasn't poison. Once she realized that it was a calming draught, she uncorked it and down the contents. "Thanks," she said, not looking at him.

"Your appreciation could have been more enthusiastic," he said with a snarl. "Now stand still, I'm going to put this on you," Draco said as he unscrewed the lid of the jar.

"You're not going to-"

"Shut. Up. Granger," He said annoyed. He dipped his fingers into the thick paste, and pushed aside her hair, rubbing it into the love marks.

Hermione tensed at his touch, trying to push him away, but he slapped at her hands, and she finally obeyed. She stared up at him with a scowl. She didn't understand why he was acting so brotherly towards her. She didn't like it.

But what she did like, was the feeling of his touch. One hand held her chin high and her hair out of the way as the other massaged the paste into her neck. He moved to the other side, giving it the same attention. After he was done with her neck, he started tugging at the neck of the robe, trying to open it, and she wrapped her arms tight around her chest. "What are you doing?" She snapped.

"Sod off, Granger. I don't want to see your breasts. Like I said the other day, I've seen better ones." He rolled his eyes as he opened the chest of the robe enough to see a small amount of her cleavage. Love marks covered her chest, and he dipped his finger into the paste once more, rubbing into each one of the marks.

A burn began inside his trousers as his hands massaged her chest. His fingers brushed at times against her cleavage, and his mouth began to water at the sight. His breathing increased as he switched sides, trying to think of something else but what was in front of him.

Hermione's heart pounded in her chest. She tried pushing away his hands multiple times, but he just smacked them away. He wasn't being mean or disrespectful in any way, but the feeling of his hands on her along with the calming draught she'd just indulged was making her forget about everything that had happened and was making her focus on the feeling of his touch.

She closed her eyes, biting her lower lip once his hand began to rub the balm into the exposed part of her cleavage. Once he'd stopped, she'd opened her eyes to see him licking his lower lip. His hair fell in his face, and his face was inches from hers.

Draco watched her closely. There were barely three inches apart. He watched as her teeth clenched harder against her lip, and he wished that it was his teeth biting it. He counted the freckles on her cheekbones, his eyes rising until they finally met hers. His heart pounded in his chest. He wanted so much to close the space between them, but he didn't. He cleared his throat, grabbing the neck of the robe into his hands, closing it to cover the small amount of cleavage that was exposed. "There," his voice croaked. "I'm done."

She looked up at him as he pulled away and nodded. Her body was on fire. Not only from the warmth of the paste, but from the electricity that traveled through her body from his touch. "Thank you," she managed to say, her voice shaky.

Draco went back to his room to put away the jar and walked back to sit down on the couch. He repaired the parchment he'd ripped upon her arrival, and opened his Arithmancy book, attempting to read the array of numbers and symbols.

He hadn't realize that he'd reread the same paragraph three times before finally throwing the book against the coffee table, growling loud in frustration. His heart was still beating out of his chest from the proximity with Granger, and he couldn't get over the thought of undoing the robe, holding her in his arms.

The bulge in his pants throbbed, and he was so frustrated that he felt he could cry angry tears. He'd taken a shower upon his return, and now he felt like he was going to have to take another one, but a cold one this time.

"Is there any work there that I could help you with?" Hermione asked from behind him, causing him to jump. He turned around to see that she was still in his robe, and his body weakened at the sight. Her hair was still damp, and her eyes were no longer red. Even though she was just in a robe, she looked amazing, he thought.

"No. There's not," Draco said with a sigh, pulling himself from his reverie. He started gathering his things, when she sat down onto the couch were his books had been.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Hermione asked him.

Draco shrugged, trying to think of anything but what was going through his head right now. "I don't care. I'm about to go to bed anyway."

"Oh," Hermione said with a defeated sigh.

Draco's eyebrow rose, and he looked down at her. "Why? Is there something that you need?" He asked curiously.

She shook her head. She didn't know why she was even sitting there. She just felt, lonely. "No, I don't think so. Just... the company is nice."

"Oh." He said. He picked up his things and took them to his dormitory. He looked into the sitting room and caught her multiple times glancing over her shoulder to see if he was coming back out. Did she really want him to be there with her?

After the fourth time she'd glanced over her shoulder, he growled in defeat as he grabbed a throw from off his trunk and walked back into the sitting room. He grabbed the one that she always used from off the armchair and threw it into her lap as he sat down on the other side. She sat with her legs stretched out on the couch; they were inches away from where he sat. He covered his arms and waist with the blanket, and stretched out his legs so they rested on the coffee table.

Hermione smiled as she watched him. He stared into the fire, glancing her way every few seconds. What was this? What was it that was happening between them, that they wanted to near each other? Never in her life did she ever imagine that she would ever be civil with Draco Malfoy.

He did not realize how much time had passed, but when he finally turned to look at her, she appeared to have dozed off, her bushy hair covering her face. Draco's hand itched to move it, and he finally gave into it. He leaned over her to push the curls behind her ear. He watched her as she peacefully slept, her chest rising and falling with every breath.

His knuckles brushed against her cheek; his thumb caressed her chin. Her skin was so soft compared to his wounded fingertips from the constant biting of his nails. He pulled away, readjusting her blanket to cover her better, and just as he was about to get comfortable, her hand grabbed his, intertwining her fingers with his.

His head jerked to look at her, but her eyes were still closed. She's still asleep, he thought. He looked at their hands and tried to pull away, but her grip increased. He smirked, shaking his head, unable to hold back an exhausted chuckle. He covered himself up again and accommodated himself so that he could still hold her hand, as he fell off to sleep.


	6. Frustrations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war was won, and now the golden trio returned to school for their 7th year. The castle was reconstructed and ready to welcome its students. With Voldemort dead, shouldn't Hogwarts be safe? What happens when all the students return to school, and danger returns to Hogwarts? Who is causing it? Will there be a new hero? And can the dangers truly be stopped this time?

_It was happening again. The fiendfyre was gaining on him. He kept telling his parents to run, to run away, to go out the door. Why were they not listening?! “GO! GET OUT!” Draco screamed but they stood there, shaking their head. He barely managed to reach them when within the fire a burning hand grabbed his marked arm, pulling him into the fiery whirlwind._

_Draco screamed as he was pulled into the fire, and then the scenery changed. He was now outside of Hogwarts, where the battle between Harry and the Dark Lord had occurred. He looked around to see that everyone was dead. To his right laid the Golden Trio and all of those who had chosen to fight against the Dark Lord, and to his left was Voldemort, Draco’s parents, and some was holding a wand to his mother's neck, while Voldemort's wand was pointed at his father._

_“Draco, you failed,” the words purred off the tongue of the Dark Lord. “You disobeyed me. I thought you had it in you, to protect your parents, but you failed me. And now, your parents will pay the price. Avada Kedavra!” Voldemort bellowed, the killing curse hitting his father straight in the chest and instead of falling back, his corpse began to burn into a pile of ashes._

_“NO!” Draco screamed, trying to run to where his father had stood, but he couldn’t move. The wizard who had his mother in his grasp was familiar, but who was it? He had seen him; dammit he’d seen him before. But where?”_

_“Now, your mother will pay the price, Draco, but not until my son has had his fun. Treat yourself, my beloved boy. My most devoted follower,” Voldemort said, going to stand next to the man._

_The wizard grinned evilly, his wand tracing over the neck of a petrified Narcissa. “You will suffer for your husband and son’s failures. I will make you wish you were dead before I even get started,” the man growled, his breath hot against Narcissa’s skin._

_“Don’t you touch my mother, you bastard!” Draco screamed. He watched as the familiar wizard fondled his mother, watching her cry for his help, but he was useless. He was frozen in place, unable to move._

_“It is time, Draco,” Voldemort said, pulling up the sleeve of his robe. The Dark Mark glowed against his porcelain skin. He pressed the wand to it, summoning his followers to him. “It is time for you to serve me. Come to me Draco. COME TO ME!”_

_\---**---_

_Blood-curdling screams woke Hermione from a deep sleep, and they were coming from Draco's room. She grabbed her wand from off the table beside her bed and ran to his room. “Malfoy!” she yelled, running to his bed._

_Malfoy was trashing back and forth, screaming as if he was in agony. “PLEASE, STOP! PLEASE, I’M SORRY!”_

_“Malfoy! Malfoy, wake up,” Hermione shook him. “You had a nightmare, wake up!" She shook him as hard as she could until he swiftly sat up in bed, gasping for air. He jumped out of the bed, looking around panicked._

_"I have to go. I must save her! They're going to torture her!" Draco cried. His face was covered in tears, and his hair was stuck to his face, a cold sweat covered his forehead._

“Malfoy, calm down. It was just a dream!” Hermione said exasperated, shaking his shoulders as she tried to get his attention.

“No, he’s calling me. It’s burning, fuck it burns!” Draco cried, his back fell hard against the wall, crumbling to the floor as he held his hand tight over the Dark Mark.

“Malfoy, he’s not calling you. Voldemort is dead.” She tried to pull his hand off the Mark, but he shook his head, and he screamed in agony.

“DON’T SAY HIS NAME! HE’LL FIND ME! HE’S GOING TO KILL ME, just like… just like,” Draco sobbed, rocking back in forth, burying his face in his hands.

Hermione’s eyes filled with tears seeing him like this. “Please, it’s okay! You’re okay, it was just a dream.” He shook his head, his sobs of fear overtaking him.

“It burns, it burns! He’s calling me. He... he," Draco began to panic, unable to breathe. Hermione straddled over his lap and hugged him tightly, rocking him back and forth.

He tried pulling away, but her grip on him was firm. She put her forehead against his, making a shushing sound as she attempted to calm him. “You have to breathe, Malfoy. It was just a dream. No one’s going to hurt you.”

Draco wrapped his arms around her, hiding his face against her neck. He gasped for air, taking in deep breaths. After what felt like forever, he finally started to calm down. His sobs slowly began to fade, and his once ragged breathing was finally back to normal.

Hermione loosened her grip around him. She leaned herself back, and he slowly looked up at her. His eyes were bloodshot, and his overly pale face was wet with tears. She wiped them away and wiped the sweat from his brow. She raked the wet hair that stuck to his face back, tucking some of the stands behind his ear.

“It was real. It so real,” Draco sighed tiredly, his eyes filling with tears of desperation. He quickly wiped them away and looked back at Hermione. She studied his face with concern. She didn’t know what she could do for him. “This is so embarrassing,” he finally said, shaking his head.

Hermione shook her head, pulling him into a hug. His body tensed in her embrace, but he didn’t pull away. It felt good to feel the warmth of some else. It felt good to be hugged. It’d been too long.

“It happens to the best of us, trust me. You’re not the only one who has nightmares,” she said truthfully. She didn’t want to compare her dreams to his. She could only imagine the heartbreaks that the fears that he’d managed to deal with the past few years.

Hermione moved off him, and he'd momentarily grabbed her waist as if to stop her. His eyes caught hers for the briefest second, and instead shook his head and let her go. He brought his knees up to his chest, his hand raking through his hair. She sighed, looking at him. “I’m going to get you some tea,” Hermione said, standing up.

“No!” Draco declared, making Hermione jump. He looked at her and sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll come with you.” Draco grabbed a jumper from his closet, pulling it over his naked chest. He only wore a pair of pajama trousers. He tossed a hooded jumper to Hermione, who’d barely managed to catch it because her attention had been elsewhere. She wore a pair of sleeping shorts and a tank top. She hadn’t realized that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

“Thanks. Just let me get my slippers,” she said, heading to her room.

Draco walked to the bathroom, splashing his hair, and face with cold water. He looked horrible. The circles around his eyes were getting darker, and he was paler than ever. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd ever eaten. It’d been two days since he’d returned from Azkaban.

Hermione checked her watch to see that it was after one. She knew that they weren’t supposed to be out of their dormitories, but she also knew that Professor McGonagall would forgive them if she provided her a good enough motive, and she believed that Draco’s nightmares were good enough to search for a cup of tea.

There had been some changes to their patrolling routines. The Head Boy and Girl were only required to patrol from seven to ten at night, the Gryffindor Prefects from ten to twelve, the Ravenclaw Prefects from twelve to two, the Hufflepuff Prefects from two to four, and the Slytherin Prefects from four to six. As most professors were already up and about the castle after six in the morning, the professors took turns patrolling each morning before breakfast.

Draco joined Hermione in the hallway and they both made their way to the kitchens. They walked together in silence, both glancing over their shoulders every so often. They glanced at each other multiple times as if one wanted to speak to the other, but the decided against it.

It took them a bit to get there, but once they finally approached the entry to the kitchen, Hermione tickled the pear, and a second later, the door opened. The kitchen was dark and empty. The only thing that illuminated the kitchens was the large brick fireplace to their right.

“I think that Valerian tea might help calm your nerves and help you sleep. Would you like that?” Hermione asked as she searched for a pot and some tea bags. "Ronald's mother brewed a pot every night after the war for the longest until we could sleep without having nightmares."

Draco shrugged. He didn't know much about tea. It was always the house-elves that served him at the manor, so he didn't know what could help him. He hated that she had to reference the mother of the Weasel. He bet she felt good, brewing a pot of tea for everyone to drink at night, coddling her children and those around her in the disastrous hut they probably called home.

A few minutes later, Hermione brought over two mugs to the table he sat at, giving one to him. “I put a small amount of calming draught into yours. I thought maybe – “

"Are you sure you're not trying to poison me, Granger?" Draco snapped, looking at his tea. Hermione scowled, slamming her tea hard onto the table, causing some to slosh out and burn her hand. She winced. “, if you'd prefer to trade, I could use some calming draught to get some decent sleep, considering the fact that you woke me up,” she said with a scowl.

Draco snarled, not saying anything. He blew against his tea before taking a sip, groaning slightly as the hot contents burned his throat. Fighting with Granger was stressful. They both knew how to get under each other’s skin, and it only made things for them much more complicated.

“Thank you,” He managed to say a while later, hoping she hadn’t heard him. He hated that he had to give his appreciation of her gratitude.

Hermione smirked, and he rolled his eyes. She was loving this. “Your welcome.”

\---**---

They made it back to their room, and Draco glanced at his dormitory and then at the couch. He didn't want to be in his room. At least in the sitting room, there was the warmth of the fireplace, and it wasn't as dark. Once he closed the door, he turned to see that Hermione was pulling off his hooded jumper. She was struggling as her hair had gotten tangled inside, her tank top was halfway up her stomach, barely below her chest.

“Malfoy!” Hermione cried for help. Draco rolled his eyes at the sight. His fingers hooked at the hem of her tank top, pulling it back down. His knuckles unconsciously caressed down her sides to her waist, causing a soft “oh” to escape her lips as she finally managed to pull the jumper off. Chill bumps covered her skin from his touch.

Her hair was a tangled mess one she finally got it off, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She folded it neatly, handing it to him. “H-here,” she stammered, trying not to catch his eye. “I think I’m going to go to bed now,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“Yeah, sure,” Draco said breaking the distance between them, throwing the jumper onto his bed. He usually preferred to sleep shirtless, but after the dream he had, he could use all the warmth he could get. He preferred to sleep shirtless. Hermione stopped in her tracks as she watched him walk to the couch. “Are you not going to bed?” She asked.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep right now,” he said honestly. The tea and the draught had calmed him, but he still could not forget about what happened in his dreams. How could he? He watched his father be killed and his mother fondled by a wizard he couldn’t remember.

“I could um... I could,” Hermione stammered, her face reddening.

“Out with it, Granger,” Draco sighed, massaging his temples. He was starting to get a headache.

“I could sit with you if you wanted,” Hermione said so fast that Draco barely heard what she said.

“But I thought you were going to bed?” He said with confusion.

She huffed impatiently. “I was merely suggesting sitting with you until you decide to go to bed or until you fall asleep.”

Draco stared at her in bewilderment, and she shook her head. “You know what, just forget I said anything,” she said, walking to her room.

“Granger?!” Draco called to her, and she turned around to look at him. His hand raked through his hair, and she could see the nervousness in his eyes. “Yes. I’d like that.”

She nodded, a blush creeping up her cheeks. She walked over to the armchair and grabbed the throw she always used, walking over to the couch. Draco sat down first, taking his usual side, which the right side of the couch. He pulled the coffee table closer, stretching out his legs.

Hermione curled into a ball on the middle seat of the couch, resting her head against the headrest, looking his way. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and he was facing her but was looking away, trying not to make eye contact. She wanted to ask him what his dream was about or to attempt to have some type of conversation, but she decided against him. Maybe he preferred to sit in silence.

She did her best to get comfortable, finally wrapping the throw around her like a cloak, securing the ends into her hands, resting them under her head. Draco was watching her now. Her eyes were closed, and her hair fell into her face. He remembered the night she’d taken hold of his hand, and he wanted nothing more to push those curls behind her ears, and for hand to seek his again. What was causing this attraction? She wasn’t even his type, was she?

He sat there for the longest, watching her. Draco tried his best to fall asleep, but he couldn’t. Hermione’s eyes tended to open occasionally as if checking to see if he was asleep, and once she realized he was staring at her, she’d reclose them.

She appeared to be dozing off, her body accommodating closer to him. One of her curls managed to fall near his shoulder, and his finger twirled it between his fingers, sighing as he breathed in the scent of lavender. There was a valley of lavender near his home, and anytime it rained or if the wind was blowing, the scent would pollute the air outside his home.

“Why do you always do that?” Draco asked quietly. Hermione had started biting against her bottom lip when he started caressing the lock of her hair. “What do you mean?” She asked, opening her eyes tiredly.

“Bite your lip. You do it all the time,” Draco said. He was honestly curious.

"Um... I'm not sure," she said, biting it again. She shook her head, covering her mouth, and began to blush. _Aha_ , that was why.

“Never mind, he said with a smirk, propping up his head up with his elbow against the headrest.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I would have thought it was obvious. I mean, I don’t do it on purpose…”

"You're intimidated by me," Draco interrupted her. Her brows furrowed, propping her head up like him.

“Me, intimidated by you? Please Malfoy,” she said with a scoff. She sat up, grabbing the corner of the blanket tightly to turn her back to him, but he managed to turn her back around to him, his elbow resting beside her head as he hovered near her.

Hermione gasped, swallowing hard at how close his face was to hers. “But you are,” Draco whispered hotly into her ear, causing a shiver to flood through her body. “Because if you didn’t,” his fingers gently caressed her cheek, pushing her hair behind her ear, his fingertips trailing down her neck, a disloyal sigh escaping her lips, “you wouldn’t fluster at my touch,” he said, his lips brushing against hers. What was he doing?

Her heart pounded in her chest as his lips teasingly brushed against hers, against her chin bone, his hot breath causing chill bumps to cover her body. "Is that why you wanted me to stay?” Hermione risked, his eyes catching hers. “To watch me bite my lip and quiver at your touch?” She pondered, causing him to heave a sigh, shaking his head.

"Why do you care so much?" Draco asked with desperation in his voice, pulling away. “Why is it that you care? No one else does, and it’s not your place,” he confessed.

This had been a question she’d asked herself many times over the past couple weeks. Why did she care? What was it about him that no matter how cruel he treated her, she always fed into his hands? “Maybe… it’s because you’ve never met anyone who truly cares,” she shrugged.

“And you care?” He questioned.

“What do you think?” The tone of her voice mimicked his.

“You confuse me so much,” he said with a flustered sigh.

Hermione smirked. She rose her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. Her thumb traced from his ear down to his chin, her thumb brushing against his lower lip. "Do you feel that?" She asked in a faint whisper. He nodded as a shiver went through his body his neck rolling as her fingertips caressed down the side of his neck, doing circles over his shoulder. "That's the way you make me feel,” she whispered into his ear, barely managing to pull back when his lips caught hers.

_Finally,_ Draco thought when she responded as hungrily as he did. He pulled her on top of him, the blanket that once covered her fell to their feet. His kisses were soft, slow. One arm wrapped around her waist as the other was lost within her curls behind her neck. 

His teeth bit teasingly against her bottom lip, causing her to pull back, a soft moan releasing into his mouth. Their cheeks were pink, and their eyes were glossed with lust. He pressed a kiss against her lips and kissed softly from her cheek down to her neck. His tongue and hot breath teased her tender flesh, and once his teeth nibbled against it, he felt her tense. He pulled back to look at her, and he realized why. "I'm not going to leave you any marks," he said trying to earn her trust.

Hermione bit her lip nervously and finally nodded, trying her best to trust him. He kissed against the lip she bit and made his way to the other side of her neck, giving it the same attention as he had the other. His hands left her made their way to her thighs, massaging his hands against her soft skin, and back up to her waist, and up and down her back.

She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter, groaning softly as his teeth grazed harder against her skin, nipping occasionally, but without leaving a mark. His lips and tongue placed wet kisses against her collarbone until his lips met hers once more.

“Come with me to my bed,” Draco whispered beggingly in between kisses. Hermione’s body froze, and he pulled back to look at her. The look on her face gave a mixture of emotions: fear, lust, regret. “I won't do anything that you don’t me to do.”

She watched him for the longest second. He was asking her to go to his bed, and she wanted to go. What was she thinking? She finally nodded and followed him sheepishly to his room, his hand never leaving hers. Once she sat down on his bed, Draco conjured a jar lit a flame to put inside of it. It dimly lit the room, perfect for the mood. This reminded Hermione of the flamed jar she always conjured with Ron… and Harry.

Draco crawled onto his bed, sitting behind Hermione who was still sitting nervously at the edge. He brushed her hair over her shoulder, and his lips brushed ever so softly against her neck and her shoulder. She shivered at his touch, chill bumps evading her skin.

He wrapped his arm around her abdomen and pulled her up onto the bed. Her hair fanned out against the pillow. She watched his every move, and he could feel how rigid she was as his fingers gently caressed from her cheek down her arm.

"Let's just sleep," Draco said, at last, moving away from her to lay down on his pillow. He didn't like how scared she seemed by his touch, and he didn't want to overstep any boundaries or make her fill uncomfortable.

The throb in his trousers was overwhelming. He wanted so bad to be inside of her, to be inside anyone at this point. It’d been so long since he’d slept with someone. He could see how nervous she was. Why wouldn’t she be? They’d hated each other for so long, and they still did. Didn’t they? He now regretted taking her to his room; everything was awkward.

Draco laid down beside her, covering them both up. She laid staring at the ceiling while he laid facing her. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to caress her overly soft skin, to explore it, to taste it. He watched her relax, her eyes fluttering closed multiple times until the tiredness overtook her, causing her to fall asleep. He knew how pathetic it was how he was acting recently, but Azkaban was affecting him. He couldn’t fall for the Mudblood, he couldn’t. He had to find someone else, a distraction. He had too.

\---**---

“A Hallows Masquerade? Bloody ‘Mione yer gon to have a l-ot on your p-l-te,” Ron said trying to speak through mouthfuls of Roast. Hermione rolled her eyes, feeling queasy at the sight of his overstuffed mouth. How did he manage to not choke? Harry sat beside Ron, and Ginny beside Harry, while Hermione sat on the other side of the table. Harry did everything he could to take part in any conversation she had with Ron, and she made her best attempt to ignore his presence every time he spoke. Ginny noticed this, and she did not like it. 

“I’m sure that Harry and I could help you, considering that you don’t have much time left. Harry has some good ideas,” said Ginny, patting Harry on the shoulder for him to speak.

“Yes, Hermione. I think that if- “

“I don’t need help, Harry,” she snapped hatefully. Harry shook his head, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“Well, it seems that the Head Boy isn't going to be much of use. Look at him. He seems to have finally broken out of his shell," pointed Ginny with a sneer at the Slytherin table.

Hermione turned to look, and she saw Draco sitting with a Slytherin witch, his arm around her waist as he whispered in her ear, causing her to blush pink. She scowled at the sight. Astoria Greengrass. Since when had he decided to take on a relationship? It wasn’t but three nights ago that he’d kissed her for the second time, and he’d taken her to his bed. They didn’t have sex of course, but still.

_N_ o _,_ Hermione thought. You only stayed with him because he didn’t want to be alone and because he asked you to. Although, in reality, she wished more would have happened, considering how she melted at his touch. She didn’t know what it was about him that made her desire his kisses, his caresses. All she knew was that she felt reckless whenever she was around him, almost as if she was breaking the rules, and it was arousing.

Was he trying to make her jealous _? Why would you even think that_ she mentally scolded herself? He has the liberty of seeing and doing whatever he wants with anyone he wants. They were only near each other because they shared the same living quarters. After all, they were school heads. Nothing more.

Hermione shrugged at the sight, turning back around. “He is Head Boy. It is his responsibility for him to participate. We will need to call a meeting with the prefects." Calling a meeting with him or even being in the same room now was going to be more awkward than it usually was.

“We _have_ to find a way to find some alcohol. That would definitely make it a party,” Ginny said mischievously, elbowing Harry. “Maybe you could let me borrow- “

“Absolutely not!” Hermione spat, shaking her head. “It is against the rules!”

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about for everyone, but for at least our friends. Come on, Hermione. When was the last time you let go and had fun?"

“Only if you knew…” Hermione trailed, her mind wandering back to the memory of her night in the Room of Requirement with Draco.

“Really? Please share,” said Harry grimly. “What could Hermione Granger, Head Girl of Hogwarts possibly be doing to let go and have fun, when most of the time you’re with Malfoy?” Hermione glared at Harry, and he sneered un-Harry like. “Or could it be that you are breaking the rules with a Slytherin?”

“Sod off, Harry,” Hermione threatened. Ron nearly choked on his food at her choice of words. She stood angrily, grabbing her bag from off the bench, storming out of the common room. “What have you done to make her that mad, mate?” She managed to hear Ron asking Harry on her way out.

She was flustered, angry, frustrated. Pounds of stress weighed down onto her shoulders. Her chest tightened, and she was unable to get a good breath of air. A panic attack was brewing, she could feel it. She ran outside the castle doors, gasping for fresh air that didn’t manage to reach deep into her chest as she needed.

Tears of frustration filled her eyes. She finally found her favorite spot in front of the lake, falling hard to the ground, gasping for air. “Hermione,” she said to herself, trying to regulate her breathing. Her hands shook uncontrollably. She lost her hands within the thin blades of grass that surrounded her, gripping handfuls of it, ripping it from the ground. She growled loudly in frustration, throwing the severed blades into the water of the black lake.

She sat there for the longest, until the alarm of her wristwatch sounded, taking her by surprise. It was time for rounds. For the first time ever, she regretted her extracurricular requirement. She didn’t want to patrol. She didn’t want to be anywhere near Draco. She wanted to be alone.

With a sigh, she made her best attempt to gather herself. Dusting off the back of her skirt, she put her bag over her shoulder and headed back to the castle, raking her fingers through her disastrous head of curls. Upon reaching the entrance hall, Draco awaited Hermione by standing against the brick wall, with no other than Astoria at his side.

“I understand, love,” Draco cooed, causing nausea to stir in Hermione’s stomach. “No need to worry. I will spend every second of my free time with you, I promise.”

“Okay,” said Astoria, batting her eyelashes. The couple shared a disgusting kiss with too much tongue before Draco pulled away, pecking her lips twice more, and the witch descended down the hall. “Your late,” it wasn’t a question, as he turned to Hermione.

It was as if a switch had flipped. He watched Hermione with the same intensity that he always did as of recent. His eyebrow was raised with curiosity as he examined her. Once his eyes met hers, his features softened. Perhaps it was because of her bloodshot eyes or her flushed cheeks, she wasn’t sure. He tried to break the space between them, but Hermione extended her hand, which collided with his chest. “Don’t,” she said simply. She didn’t want to be part of his games.

He watched her intensely and again tried breaking the space between them, but she shook her head, backing away. "What is wrong?" He didn't know what else to say.

“It’s none of your business,” she said with a defeated sigh. “Let’s just get this over with. I’m tired.”

Draco whistled, rolling his eyes. “Must be your moon cycle of the month.”

Hermione scoffed, stomping down the hall in annoyance. “Just because a female is angry doesn’t mean it has anything to do with her menstruation cycle, Malfoy.”

Draco shrugged with unimportance, and she shook her head annoyed. She realized that this was the attitude of the Malfoy she always hated, and if she had to deal with this for the rest of the night, he was in for a rude awakening.

They made their way up to the second floor. They came across the office of Professor Rittle, and Hermione lingered for the slightest second out the door. She could hear mumbles of conversation from the room, but it was impossible to understand what was being said. Draco had come to the end of the corridor before he realized that Hermione was still standing in front of the Professor's office. With one hand on his hip as if to demonstrate his annoyance, Hermione rolled her eyes and made her way to where he was to make their way to the third floor.

This floor did not consist of much. Hermione's mind lost itself in what felt like ancient memories from her first year at Hogwarts when Fluffy the three-headed dog guarded the trap door that lead to the hiding of the Sorcerer's Stone that Harry managed to destroy. She sighed at the thought, frowning at home much she missed being around her best mates. Even Harry, although she felt like their friendship was falling apart, all because of those nights in the woods.

Draco was the one who opened all the doors of the rooms they came across that night, while Hermione supervised the floor. “So… about the Hallows Dance?” Hermione trailed, speaking for the first time in over an hour.

“What about it?” Draco asked as the moving staircase now landed them on the fourth floor.

“Well, it’s only a week away, and we haven’t made any plans. As Head Boy and Girl, it is our responsibility –“

“I could care less about a dance,” Draco interrupted her. “Do whatever you want. Have the other Prefects work on it. I don’t have time to plan a dance. I’m already desperately behind on all of my work as it is.”

Hermione wanted to retort at his lack of enthusiasm on the topic, but she knew that he had a point. How could he stay on top of everything while he was having to still do time in Azkaban? But still, that wasn’t her problem. “At least gather some type of proposal, and I will get with the others. It was only brought to my attention last week.”

“Again, do whatever you wish. It is a masquerade after all. Not much is needed other than masks and dress robes, and the typical Halloween decorations. It’s a Hogsmeade weekend on Saturday; most of the students can gather everything they need to at that time,” He said tiredly.

“Fine,” she huffed, annoyed. Ten o’clock finally came, and they made their way back to their quarters. “Feats of feet,” murmured Hermione to the door, letting them both in. She walked to her room, kicking off her shoes, and walked back to the sitting room, plopping onto her usual spot on the couch. She curled her legs underneath her, resting her head on the armrest as she investigated the fire.

Draco still stood at the door, not understanding anything that was taking place. She’d been hostile and on edge since the start of their patrol, and this wasn’t typical Granger behavior. He finally decided to walk over to the couch, his fingers drumming against the back of the couch. Hermione looked back long enough to acknowledge his presence, then turned back to watch the fire.

He stood there, watching her silently. One of her fingers twirled a curl, and he thought he could hear muffled sniffles coming from her. “Do you want to talk about it?” Draco asked, not knowing what else to say at this point.

She shook her head, and he raked his hand through his hair in frustration. He realized that her body was starting to shake and that she was still in uniform. He grabbed the throw she always used from the air chair, and walked back to the couch, laying it over her. With a sigh, she grabbed one of the edges, curling it tightly around her, her fist clenched with the soft fabric underneath her chin.

He decided at this point to keep her company, and walked around to the front of the couch, sitting down onto the floor. He brought his legs up, resting his elbows onto his knees as he twirled his wand in his fingers, turning to look at her.

Hermione studied every movement until he turned to look at her, and her eyes went back to the fire. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but her emotions were all out whack. She just felt so frustrated that she didn’t know what to do to relieve herself from the annoyance. She did know what she needed. However, that wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon. With no one, for that matter.

“So, Astoria Greengrass?” Hermione finally said aloud after minutes of silence.

Draco turned with a brow raised, resting his elbow on the couch close to her knee. He smirked slightly with a sly grin but nodded. “Yeah, for now. Nice shag material.”

“Despicable,” Hermione said with a grossed scowl.

This caused Draco to laugh, and she glared at him. “Is there jealousy in that tone? If I knew better, I would say yes.”

"Please," she scoffed; her cheeks tinged with anger.

He shook his head, the obnoxious grin not leaving his lips. His fingers started playing with his tie until it loosened around his neck. He undid a couple of buttons and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, the fire starting to make him uncomfortably warm. "I have to find a way to come off somehow."

Hermione’s eyes widened at his confession, and this caught his attention. “You know, maybe that’s what you need. You should ask Potter to rile you up; I’m sure he wouldn’t turn you down.”

“You arse,” spat Hermione, kicking Draco hard against the back. “How could you say such a thing?!” She growled, sitting up so fast attempting to smack him, the throw falling to the floor

“Watch it!” Draco snarled, slamming his wand onto the table, and grabbing Hermione hard by both wrists, using his grip to lift himself off the floor, slamming her hard against the armrest.

The impact knocked the breath out of Hermione, but she recoiled fast and started thrashing underneath him, trying to push him away, all the while her skirt raised higher up waist, exposing too much of her thighs.

“Ah, come on,” Draco sneered, gripping her tighter. “Has scarhead finally given up trying to get into your knickers? Or did he get tired of playing your _hard to get_ games?”

“You are a disgusting, imbecile," she snapped, "How can you say something – like – that?" Hermione grunted as she fought, finally breaking free from his hands to grab a fist full of hair from the back of his head, trying to lift up.

“Argh!” He growled, his hands pushing hard against her shoulders, his body pinning her against the armrest between her legs. He managed to get hold of her wrists once more, and he thrust his pelvis hard against her abdomen, causing her to let out a harsh gasp, her grip loosening from his hair. He growled with frustration at the release of her grip, taking the opportunity to take hold of her wrists again, pinning them above her head.

“GET… OFF,” Hermione shouted, attempting to kick her legs that were pinned on each side of him, but it was useless. It only caused her groin to grind against his waist, a flustered gasp escaping her mouth at the impact of her knicker covered middle meeting his abdomen.

“So that’s what it is,” Draco smirked. “You’re so sexually frustrated that you don’t know how to control it,” Draco whispered hotly against her neck, his waist pressing hard against her, causing her to stifle a hot sigh.

“Get, off me,” Hermione said in a desperate whisper, her waist pushing hard against his, as she tried helplessly to push him off. Her eyes were rimmed with angry tears, begging to fall.

"No," Draco growled, his eyes meeting hers. His forehead pushed against hers, and his spearmint flavored breath was hot against her lips, causing the burn between her legs to intensify, a shiver rippled through her body, causing her nipples to harden.

She thrashed underneath him again, pushing her forehead against his to push him away, only causing him to grind himself against her. Hermione melted at the feeling, a defeated sigh escaping her lips, her eyes closing tight, the angry tears falling down her cheeks.

Draco’s hands loosened their grip, and her eyes opened once they did. Her eyes were tinged red, but her eyes were glossed with lust just like his. He lifted his head from hers, his tongue licking his bottom lip. His heart pounded in his chest as his eyes traveled down to her mouth.

“Malfoy,” Hermione said in an almost desperate whisper, and he took queue. His lips met hers, and a groan of union escaped from both, the walls of tension breaking between them.

A sigh of relief left Hermione at the taste of his lips. One hand wrapped around his neck while the other got lost in his hair, pulling him closer. Draco growled into her mouth at her grip, his arms wrapping around her, her chest crashing hard against his.

Hermione’s back arched as the kiss deepened causing her waist to rub against him, and Draco broke the kiss with a hiss, grinding hard against her which caused her to moan aloud.

“Merlin, that sound,” his voice shook. Draco loosened his embrace, his hands finding her hips. Gripping them tight, he ground himself against her again, causing an aroused cry to escape her mouth, which sent a shiver down Draco’s spine.

“Granger,” he growled. Her eyes met his, her intense gaze giving away how hot he made her. His hands trailed from her hips up her waist, until they passed over her chest up to her neck. He placed one hand on her neck and encircled the other around her back, and his teeth attacked the slope of her collarbone, nipping it had.

“Ah,” she panted. His tongue teased her shoulder blade, his teeth slowly climbing her neck. His breath was hot against the back of her ear, the nip he gave her caused her to moan, her legs wrapping themselves around Draco’s waist, rubbing herself against him.

He greeted her eager middle with a hard grind, causing him to swear breathlessly under his breath, breaking away from her neck. His lips met hers again, his tongue demanding to toy with hers. His hands moved to cup her breasts into his hands, causing Hermione to moan softly.

His fingers fought against the buttons of her blouse until he finally undid them all. Hermione lifted herself, her hands leaving from his hair, helping him push it off. He pulled back to view her generous mounds that were covered by a white lace bra. He could see her hardened peaks underneath the fabric, and his fingers pinched them teasingly.

She stirred underneath him, her middle rubbing against his waist invitingly. His lips broke from hers and started trailing down her chest. His hands cupped her breasts into his hands, pushing them together as his lips trailed over her exposed cleavage, nipping until he reached her hardened nipple. His teeth nipped against the hard bud, his tongue teasing against the fabric, making it wet.

“M-Malfoy,” she stammered, her chest pushing into his face. Draco growled hungrily, pulling down the fabric, sucking the aroused bud into his mouth, his tongue toying with it. Hermione could feel the bulge in his pants hardening even more. It rubbed against her thigh as he began to tease her other breast, giving it the same attention.

Hermione grasped his loosed tie into a tight fist, pulling it hard so that his lips met hers again. She kissed him hungrily, her teeth biting hard against his lower lip, sucking it into her mouth. With the tie still clenched tight in her hand, with her free one she undid the buttons of his shirt, satisfied once her nails grazed from his chest down to his abdomen until she reached the hem of his slacks. Her fingers slipped inside the hem, enough to grasp the fabric to pull him closer, her hand then lowering to caress the hardened bulge from the outside of his slacks, causing him to groan aloud. 

He broke the kiss to look down at her. She bit hard against her lower lip as she caressed him from outside his slacks. He bucked into her hand, and she managed to grasp him from the outside, caressing him. He panted with groans of need as her grip became tighter. She let go of his tie and started undoing his belt, tossing it to the floor. His slacks now loose against his waist gave her the access she needed. Her hand slipped inside his slacks, grabbing his boxer covered length tight into her hand, stroking him slowly. “Merlin, Granger,” he groaned, his voice shaky. “I’m going to make a mess if you don’t stop.”

Hermione smirked at this and lifted herself. As she continued to stroke him, she placed wet kisses against his abdomen, causing chill bumps to immediately cover his body. Her teeth began to graze near his navel, and a strangled cry escaped his throat, unable to take any more of her teasing.

"Come here," Draco growled, pulling away from her, and pulling her from the couch. His hand wrapped around Hermione's neck, pulling her into a deep kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and he took advantage to lower himself enough to wrap his arms around the back of her thighs, picking her up, where she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist.

He carried her to the nearest wall, slamming her hard against it. He feverishly kissed her, his hard length rubbing hard against her hot, wet knickers. It rubbed hard against her swollen clit, causing Hermione to cry out a moan, breaking their kiss. Her hands gripped tight against his shoulders and did her best attempt to rock her hips against him more, causing him to hiss, licking his lips. “Come with me to my bed,” he pleaded.

Hermione nodded. Her lips met his once more, and he lifted her to the wall, taking them to his room. They were almost to his room when a loud knock came from the door. Hermione gasped, jumping down from him his waist, wide-eyed face flushed.

“Who is that?” She whispered panicked, shaking as she tried to rebutton her shirt.

“How the hell would I know? No one EVER comes here,” he snapped hotly.

“Coming!” Hermione called nervously, doing her best to flatten her skirt and run her fingers through her wild head of curls.

A loud knock sounded again, and Hermione shakenly opened the door. To her surprise, outside the door stood Harry. “Harry! What are you doing-?” She hissed, stepping outside.

“I did it,” Harry interrupted her. “I broke up with Ginny. I told her that I can’t be with her anymore because I’d fallen in love with someone else. I can’t be with her anymore, Hermione. I-“

“You what?!” She snapped, her heart beating so fast in her chest that it felt like it was going to explode. “Why did you do such a thing?!!”

"Because I love you, Hermione. I don’t know how many-wait. What were you doing? Why are you so flustered?” Harry pondered.

“I-I-um. Flustered? I’m not flustered!” She stammered, trying to smooth down her curls. “Why did you-“

“Who is it?” Said Draco from behind Hermione, causing her to jump. She tried pulling the door closed, but he opened it, peering out.

Harry pushed hard the door, causing it to open enough so he could fully see Draco. There he stood, his shirt unbuttoned, pink nail marks covered his pale, muscular chest. His slacks rested low against his waist, the hem of his boxers visible, and a slowly softening bulge underneath them.

“What’s this?” Snapped Harry, as he looked between the two. “Are you serious, Hermione?” He bellowed. “Malfoy, of all people?! YOU’RE SLEEPING WITH MALFOY?” He screamed.

“Don’t you yell at her, Potter,” Draco snapped, pushing past Hermione. He pushed Harry into the middle of the corridor. “It is past curfew. That’s 20 points from Gryffindor!” Draco spat. “And you stay here any longer, I’ll make sure you have detention for a week.”

“It’s not what it looks like,” said Hermione, frankly, pulling at Draco’s arm for him to get back inside.

“It’s not what it looks like?!” Both Draco and Harry bellowed, staring at Hermione in bewilderment.

“It’s not what it looks like?” Harry said weakly, barely audible. “I break up with Ginny to be with you because I love you. I’m bloody in love with you Hermione, and I come here to see you a hot, flustered mess, with Malfoy?”

Draco scoffed, shaking his head. He looked between both Harry and Hermione, a deepening scowl marked his face as he went back inside, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione squealed in frustration, rubbing her face into her shaking hands. “What part of… WE CAN’T BE TOGETHER DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND, HARRY?!” She finally screamed.

Harry winced, breaking the space between them. He tried to pull her into an embrace, but she pushed him away, shaking her head. “We can be together, Hermione. All you have to do is say yes. We are meant to be together. I love you, and I know you love me. Please,” He pleaded.

Tears of frustration cascaded down her cheeks. “You... just… don’t... get it, Harry. What part of _I don’t want to be with you that way_ do you not understand?!”

He watched her, a scowl creeping upon his face. It's because of him, isn't it?" Harry snarled, pointing towards the door that Draco had entered. "You don't want to be with me, but you want to be with Malfoy? Your fraternizing with the enemy, Hermione! He's made your life hell all these years…"

"This has nothing to do with Malfoy!" Hermione snapped, stomping the ground. "I'm done, Harry. I am not going to sit here and argue with you. You made a very big mistake breaking up with Ginny. She loves you, Harry. And not only is this going to blow up in your face, but you're risking your friendship with Ron."

“I will risk my friendship with anyone as long as I can have you,” Harry confessed with a sigh.

Hermione shook her head, wiping away her tears. "Then you need to get your priorities in order, Harry. I’m not going to lose my friends to be with you. And I’m not going to risk our friendship just to become romantically involved.

And with that, Hermione opened the door, closing it behind her without looking back.

She took a deep breath, wiping her eyes as she emerged into the sitting room. She looked up to see Draco leaning against the frame of his door, his arms crossed over his chest. His face mirrored the same scowl he wore before leaving them. “It’s not what it looks like?” He said once again, pain in his voice.

She looked up at him, shaking her head. “I didn’t mean it like- “

"But you did, Granger. You did mean it. You were about to sleep with me… sleep with me before Potter came and ruined everything. Are you such a slag, that he came all the way here to let you know that he broke up with the Weaselette, to confess his love for you so that he could shag you too?"

“WHAT?!” Hermione snapped; her face flushed with anger. “You cannot possibly think…”

“Oh, no,” he interrupted her. “I know exactly what I think, and I know exactly what I saw. You like to lead people on, just to toss them away, like a toy. Your pathetic,” he spat. “Maybe that’s what it’s like to be a Mudblood after all,” Draco said defeatedly, turning to enter his room, slamming the door in her face.

Hermione stared at the spot he’d stood at, silent tears falling down her face. She’d been mere minutes away from giving herself to him. Minutes. The way he managed to break down her walls with a single touch made her want to crumble at his door, to plead him to come back. But she couldn’t, she wouldn’t. Embarrassed and flustered, Hermione walked quietly to her room, falling to the floor once the door closed, screaming in agony as another panic attack overtook her.


	7. Desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war was won, and now the golden trio returned to school for their 7th year. The castle was reconstructed and ready to welcome its students. With Voldemort dead, shouldn't Hogwarts be safe? What happens when all the students return to school, and danger returns to Hogwarts? Who is causing it? Will there be a new hero? And can the dangers truly be stopped this time?

There was exactly one week left until the Hallows Dance, and Hermione was NOT looking forward to it. It was the only thing that people talked about, and she wished for it to come and go. All the witches in her year vowed to spend their entire day in Hogsmeade to try and find the best dress robes or perfect costumes for the event.

Hermione was beginning to feel pressured with the dance's last-minute touches. Between the Prefects and herself, considering that Draco’s help was nonexistent, they'd barely managed to pull off so much in so little time. Professor McGonagall had given them such short notice because it had been canceled due to the incident with Harry being under the Imperius Curse a few weeks back.

Security had been tight throughout the school since everything had happened, so Professor McGonagall decided to continue with the party plans to lighten the mood throughout the school. The night the news had been announced, the Great Hall erupted in an uproar of cheerful chatter. Everyone was excited about the Hallows dance, even Mr. Filch to say the least.

Hermione and the others were given instructions to gather everything needed to throw an entertaining and enjoyable evening for all of Hogwart’s students, and that's what they did. They got together the evening before to plan all of the decorations, types of music that would be played, whether the Masquerade would be formal and/or if costumes were acceptable. Hermione agreed along with the others that a formal event was preferred, but that students were allowed to wear a costume if the wished.

Hermione was granted permission by Professor McGonagall to apparate to Muggle London today while the others were at Hogsmeade. She knew exactly where she was going to go and what she was looking for. She only hoped she’d find it.

“Promise me that you’ll meet me at The Three Broomsticks so we can talk. I’m going crazy, ‘Mione. I can’t talk to Luna about this,” said Ron pleadingly.

Hermione frowned and nodded at the same time. She didn’t want to have this conversation, but it was needed. "I promise I won’t be long, an hour at most. Meet me there at two, okay?”

Ron heaved a sigh. “I’ll save you a seat.”

She grasped his shoulder firmly. He gave her a quick pat on the back, and Hermione made her way out the castle doors, making her way to Hogsmeade.

It was a perfect day to be out of the castle. The sun was shining, and the temperature was great. There was an occasional breeze that caught her by surprise, but with her long-sleeved black thermal and her skinny jeans, it was enough to keep the chill at bay. Hermione was halfway across the grounds when Madame Maxine came blocked her path.

The giant witch was two times her size, causing Hermione to strain her neck to look up at her, all the while trying to block the sun from her eyes. “Miss Granger,” slurred her French accent. “Wher’ eez ze permission a’slipe?”

“Right here, Madame,” Hermione said, fishing into her pocket for the folded piece of parchment. The giant opened the letter that Professor McGonagall had given her. With a nod she stepped aside, allowing Hermione to make her way to Hogsmeade.

\---**---

Upon reaching Hogsmeade, she made her way towards a couple of shrubs that would be the best place to seclude herself. She looked around to make sure no one was watching her, after a loud crack, Hermione apparated herself to Muggle London. She apparated just outside of the town and took a cab to her destination which was only a few minutes away. Upon arrival, she paid the taxi driver and stepped out of the car, onto the corner of South Limber St. She passed a few local businesses along the way before coming to her destination. She looked at the sign on the door of the store that read, La Glamor, and then walked inside.

She remembered going to this store as a child whenever her Aunt Sheila had married her Uncle Dave. Her parents had taken her there to purchase the dress she wore to the ceremony. The store had obviously changed then, but not for the good. The orchid flower wallpaper was peeling from the walls, and the wooden floors cricked and groaned with every step that she took. _I hope I did not make a mistake coming_ here, she thought to herself as she browsed the store.

To her relief, even though the store was in poor condition, the racks were full of lovely dresses and skirts. Hermione began to browse swiftly through the racks, trying to find something that would do her justice, but she wasn't having any luck. She looked down at her watch, sighing. She didn’t have that much longer until she was expected to meet Ron in Hogsmeade.

“Can I help you, miss?” Came a voice from behind her, causing her to jump. A friendly-faced plump muggle woman who looked in her late forties stood behind her, her hands on her hips. “You seem to be rushed. If you tell me what you’re looking for, perhaps I can help you.”

“Yes, I have a time limit. I need a simple dress. A white one, maybe silk and with sequins. Perhaps one shoulder or with thick straps or multiple layers. Long for sure. I'm going to be making some alterations to it, so I'm no. I just really need the fabric,” Hermione rushed, her fingers twiddling together.

“You're not getting married my child, are you? You are too young to wed yourself away. Oh, you have so-”

“It's for a dance,” Hermione interrupted her rant. Of course, she wasn't going to get married.

“Oh, good. Come this way, I have something similar to your request.” She led her to the opposite side of the shop to a rack that was practically hidden. It was pushed into a corner. “These are slightly out of date I dare to say, that's why I have them over here. Not many young women buy these type of dresses anymore. They want the more modern ones. You know, the one that comes just barely passed their knickers.”

Hermione choked by a laugh, a few witches her age coming to m. “Yes, I understand. Thankfully, I'm a little old fashioned.” She browsed through the rack until she came across a long silk white dress that came with sequins spiraled around the dress, with multiple layers that began at the knee, cascading down to form a train. It was defiantly out of date, but her only complaint was that it was strapless. Other than that, it was perfect. _With just a few modifications, I know I can make it work_ , she thought “I'll take this one.”

"Are you sure, doll? I'm sure there are some better ones in here," the lady said, as she started browsing through the racks to help.

Hermione looked down at her watch. McGonagall only wanted her to be away for an hour, and her time was almost up. She took a quick look at the price tag and gave the woman two hundred euros. “Just keep the change, I'm going to be late. Thank you for all your help!” She rushed, giving the woman a gentle pat on the back before she left the store, with the dress over her arm. She sped walked to a nearby alley she’d noticed while on her cab ride. She stuffed the dress into the expandable bag that Hermione always carried, and after making sure there were no Muggles around, she apparated.

“Umph,” she groaned once her she landed in Hogsmeade, the precise spot behind the shrubs that she’d been before she apparated to Muggle London. She peered around the shrubs to make sure no one was around, and casually making her way into Hogsmeade, content that she’d managed to find a dress within an hour.

\---**---

"Hermione!" Called Ron as soon as she had walked into The Three Broomsticks. She looked to her left to see that he sat in one of the secluded booths in the corner. She was thankful to see that although the pub was busy, no one was sitting near the booth Ron had chosen. She didn’t want an audience.

“Ron,” Hermione said with a small smile. “Where’s Luna?” She questioned with curiosity.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. She was supposed to go to Honeydukes, but then Ginny found her…”

“Oh,” Hermione frowned, putting her face into her hands. She jumped slightly when Madam Rosemerta put two mugs of Butterbeer onto the table. She thanked the witch and Ron and took a generous sip of the warm goodness.

“So, it’s true?” Ron asked, putting his hand gently over Hermione’s. “You and Harry?”

Hermione watched him painfully. She believed it hurt her more to see that he wasn’t the least bit upset, but appeared to have been cheated non the less. "Nothing is going on between Harry and myself, Ronald."

“But he wants there to be something, doesn’t he?” Ron asked, trying to understand. “And you… don’t?”

Hermione nodded, looking down at the wooden table, trying to make out the carvings that had been there for ages. “Something happened between us, but we had promised that we would put it in the past because we didn’t want it to cause chaos. He was supposed to be with Ginny, and I was supposed to be happy about it, which I’ve always have been. However, upon our return to Hogwarts, he has been so different.”

She peaked a glance at Ron, and his face carried a heavy, yet saddened scowl. Hermione sighed, shaking her head. Ron’s grip on her hand tightened, and she looked up. “When you say something happened, you mean that you slept together?”

Hermione only nodded. She couldn’t find the words to say anything else.

Ron sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me? Or better yet, why didn’t he tell me?”

“Oh Ron,” she said exasperated. “How could we have told you?”

“I guess you’re right. It bothers me more knowing than having not,” he said with a low growl. “But what bothers me the most is how he just tossed Ginny aside, and she’s taking it hard, you know. He didn’t tell her that it was you he was in love with. Honestly, he didn’t have to. We’ve both known for a while now.”

Hermione looked at him, puzzled. “What do you mean by that?”

Ron’s face pinkened. “Face it, Hermione. It was bound to happen. How could either of us not fall in love with you at some point in our lives? We’ve both loved you as a friend for ages now, but I fell in love with you first. I still love you; I think. I will always be jealous no matter who you are with because I’ve always truly wanted to be with you, but we will never be good together. We both know this.”

Hermione’s eyes filled with tears at his confession. She knew for the longest that he had feelings for her, and she had feelings for him as well, at one point in her life. But those feelings were lost the night she slept with Harry.

“You’re the most brilliant witch that Harry and I have ever come to know. You’ve saved our arses more than once, and if it hadn’t been for your help, Harry would not have found the way to destroy You-Know-Who. I understand why he loves you, and why he wants to be with you,” he said with a sigh. “But he didn’t have to go about it the way he did. If Ginny ever goes back to him, there will so much conflict. She feels betrayed by both of you."

“And that is the precise reason why I told him we couldn’t be together,” Hermione snapped, causing Ron to jump back, moving his hand from hers. “The other night, he came to my living quarters to tell me that he had broken it off with Ginny. I’ve told him numerous times that I would not put my friendships on the line to become romantically involved with him. I would not risk my friendship with you and Ginny, your family, and most of all, that I would not risk my friendship with him.”

They were quiet for a few minutes. Hermione tapped her forgotten mug of Butterbeer with her wand, chanting a spell to rewarm the contents, and began sipping on it once more. “I will talk to him,” Ron finally said. “, All I want to do is to bloody punch the git for hurting my sister, but I can’t blame him how he feels. None of us can.”

Hermione frowned. She hated all of this. She really missed Harry. She missed spending time with both boys. She missed hearing them talk about Quidditch although she really could care less about the sport. She missed getting onto them about their schoolwork and helping them the night before something was due just so they could last minute. Why did things have to be so complicated?

The shuffling of bags pulled Hermione from her thoughts, and she looked up to see that Luna had joined them. "Hello, Hermione. How are you? It's been a while since I've seen you?" Luna pecked a soft kiss against Ron’s cheek, causing him to blush. He pulled Luna into an embrace, and she snuggled comfortably against his chest as she took a sip of his Butterbeer.

Hermione gave them a small smile. When would she ever find someone, she could be genuinely happy with? “I’m doing okay Luna, thank you for asking. How about you?”

“Good enough,” she said, putting the mug back onto the table. “Your head appears to be full of Wrackspurts, Hermione. I would go to the hospital wing on your way back to the castle. I’m sure there must be something Madam Pomfrey can give you for the infestation.”

Hermione chuckled, more at Ron’s mouthing of _sorry_ instead of Luna’s prophecy. “That must be why I’m so distracted. Thank you, Luna,” Hermione played along as she stood up from the booth. “I think it’s time for me to get going. I have to put some work into my dress for the Hallows Masquerade, and my patrols will be here before you know it. It was nice seeing you both.”

\---**---

After a chorus of goodbyes, Hermione left the Three Broomsticks and made her way back to the castle. It was a good walk from Hogsmeade back to Hogwarts, but she accepted the challenge with open arms. She looked down at her wristwatch to see that it was half-past five. She was for rounds in less than two hours, and for a second time, she was not looking forward to it.

She greeted two of the giants who patrolled the gates and made her way up the hill that led her to her home. She accepted the solace greedily. Passing the Black Lake, the corner of her eye caught the large golden goals from the Quidditch Pitch.

Hermione didn’t know what made her decide to go to the old stadium, but once she found herself laying down onto one of the benches, staring at the gray stormy clouds that formed in the sky, her heart relaxed for the slightest second. She turned to lay on her side to look down at the pitch, a smile curled upon her lips as memories of some of the best matches played in her head.

"Ah… ohhh…." traveled with a gust of wind that had just blown past Hermione. She sat up wide-eyed, looking around to try and locate the noise. "Yes…." She heard again and turned to her left from where the sound had come from. Was someone thick enough to be shagging at the Quidditch Pitch of all places?

Hermione walked quietly down the benches until jumping down to the ground. She looked around the pitch to make sure no one else was around and followed the long bench until it ended. The rustling of grass could be heard from behind the stand, and she tiptoed as quiet as she could until she reached the back. Risking a glance, Hermione peeked behind the stand, and nausea filled her throat.

Lying on a blanket that was extended onto the lawn was no other than Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass going at it. Astoria was rocking violently on top of Draco, his hands gripped tightly against her hips, thrusting deeply into her, causing Astoria to cry out loud moans.

“Oh…. Yes….” She moaned louder, rocking so fast on top of him that Hermione did not know how she didn’t manage to not fall off.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Hermione bellowed as she made her presence known, hands on her hips. A startled scream came from Astoria, and Draco pushed her off him so hard that fell into a nearby bush. Draco grasped the blanket to cover his middle, his face paler than normal.

“What in the hell are you doing here, Granger?” Draco snapped, fishing for his bottoms as he tried to redress underneath the blanket with little success.

“What am I doing here? No, what are you doing here?” Hermione shrieked a little too loudly. “You are Head Boy, for the love of Merlin. And of all places, you decide behind a Quidditch stand is the best place to shag your girlfriend?!”

“Granger, please don’t say anything!” Scrambled Astoria as she put on her undergarments. “Please, I beg you.”

Hermione almost forgot that she was there. The anger and jealousy that had built inside of Hermione at the sight of Draco fornicating disgusted her to no end. “I most certainly will say something! You are breaking multiple school rules, and you Malfoy, are sleeping with a minor! That will be 50 points from Slytherin… each!” She shouted, her face red and full of rage.

“Don’t be rash, Granger,” Draco snapped as he stood up, buckling his belt then slipping on his boots. He wore a pair a gray thermal that paired perfectly with his dark-colored jeans, and a pair of black, exotic skinned ankle boots.

“I honestly believe that I am being lenient. Absolutely disgusting,” she spat, pointing to where the couple had been laying, turning to watch Astoria take off in a sprint, pulling her dress down every couple of seconds until she disappeared from their sight. 

"Come on," snapped Draco, taking his wand from his pocket to disappear the blanket, turning his attention back to Hermione. "This place here is better than having to shag her over a desk in an abandoned classroom."

Hermione mimicked a gag, turning swiftly to leave before Draco grabbed her by the shoulder, pushing her until her back collided with the stand. "What is it? Are you so jealous at the sight of some sexual activity that you’re going to vomit?”

“Get off me,” Hermione snapped, pushing at Draco’s chest, failing to make him move even an inch.

“Or is it that you liked so much what you saw that you wish it was you? If memory serves me correctly, it was only days ago that you were so willing to give yourself up to me,” he sneered.

As hard as she could, Hermione gathered the strength into her hand and slapped Draco so hard against the face that he fell to the ground. His jaw dropped, his hand going to his reddened cheek, a welt in the perfect shape of her hand growing on his face. “You malicious bastard!” Hermione shrieked.

She stomped away as he started to get up. “Granger,” Draco said in a pleading voice, but she ignored him. She was just turning to the side of the stand before his hand grasped her by the wrist, pulling her so swiftly that she collided into his chest.

“I’m sorry,” Draco said, wrapping his arms around her tightly to keep her from moving. “That was sly, I didn’t mean it.”

“Of course, you meant it!” Hermione snapped, fighting to get out of his embrace. She finally decided to stomp on his foot. This distracted him for a second, hissing out multiple profanities before he gripped her harder, pushing her against one of the rusted iron poles that helped support the stand.

“Let me go, I have to get back to the castle. We have rounds in an hour,” Hermione snapped, groaning painfully as his weight pressed her harder against the pole.

“No!” Draco barked, rubbing his cheek which was now starting to swell. 

“Just move,” Hermione huffed annoyingly. She managed to push him off, and this time he didn’t try to grab her. An annoying part of her brain wished for him to stop her, to do anything to her, but she pushed away from the thought. She did not want anything to do with him, she tried to tell herself.

“I’m sorry you had to see that” Draco called after her.

Hermione turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. “Oh, trust me, you don’t know how sorry I am as well. My eyes will be scarred for life,” she sneered.

"For what it's worth," Draco said sheepishly. "The only reason I slept with her is that I haven't been able to come off since the other night. Not with her or even by wanking."

“Gross!” Hermione gaped, turning around to make her way back to the castle. Steam could have been erupting from her ears at how angry she was, but a smug crept upon her lips at the thought of Draco not being able to come off because of her. She hated how much it affected her to see him with Astoria. Perhaps it was because, for the past few days, she kept waking up to wet knickers from the exotic dreams she kept having that included him.

\---**---

“Delicious,” Hermione moaned in enjoyment as she put another fork of Scotch pie into her mouth. It was one of her favorite foods as a child, and It had been ages since the last time she’d tasted the delicacy.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” said a slightly annoyed voice that broke Hermione’s attention from her food.

“I was,” huffed Hermione as Harry took a seat in front of her. Upon her arrival, Ron had already gotten comfortable with Seamus and Dean farther down the table, so Hermione had opted to sit alone _. So much for trying to avoid conflict_ , she thought.

“Well, sorry to disturb you,” he said grumpily as grabbed his own Scotch pie and helped himself to some vegetables.

Hermione didn’t respond to his apology. Instead of eating, she unconsciously toyed with her food, having lost her appetite. She glanced up a few times at Harry and saw that in between bites of food that he smirked; his eyes focused on the other side of the room.

Taking interest, Hermione turned to look. At the Slytherin table sat Draco along with Astoria. Astoria was blotting his cheek with what appeared to be an ice pack, and the welt that she’d left him was turning into a bruise. Draco kept swatting at her hand to make her stop, but she kept insisting to try and help him.

Hermione turned around with a giggle, smiling at her triumph. “I’m assuming that I don't have to guess who hit him. Am I right?" Harry asked, trying to start a conversation.

She laughed shaking her head. “No, perhaps not.”

He smiled, sighing in relief that she was talking to him. “What did he do that was so bad that you hit him?”

She shrugged. “He said something that was disrespectful after I found him with Astoria.”

“Found him with Greengrass?” Harry pried.

She smirked. "Let's just say that I found both of them going at it behind the Gryffindor stands at the Quidditch Pitch, and apart from threatening to report them, I deducted 100 points from Slytherin."

“Shagging on the Quidditch Pitch,” Harry whistled, chuckling under his breath.

They sat in silence as they continued to finish their dinner. “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry,” said Harry after a while. Hermione looked at him with her eyebrow raised. “Everything that I have said is true, but everything that I have done since coming back to Hogwarts has not been intentional. It’s true that I love you and that I want to be with you, but I accepted the fact that we couldn’t be together, and I was happy with her. But upon arriving, I feel like I’m lost. There are times that I don’t even remember how I get places, and I’ll end up having done something wrong or said something I shouldn’t have. Especially the way I broke it off with Ginny…” He trailed.

Hermione frowned. “You don’t think that someone is using the Imperius Curse against you again… do you?”

Harry shrugged. “It’s a possibility, but who, Hermione? Do you think I’d really be the only target?”

She shook her head, not knowing what to say. Could this be true? Could there be someone who was trying to cause chaos for Harry, making him do things that he would normally never do? She thought back to the night he came to her living quarters, and she thought of Draco. Could it be that Draco was being affected as well, or even herself? Because when in their right mind, would either of them had ever thought they could be friendly towards each… much less kiss, and get close to shagging?

“I’m not sure who it could be,” she finally said. “One thing I know is certain. You _must_ make up with Ginny.”

Harry cringed at the thought. “She hates me, Hermione. She knows it’s because of you that I broke up with her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to murder me in my sleep.”

Hermione laughed at this, shaking her head. She checked her watch and it read five till seven. She stood up, taking one last sip of her pumpkin juice. “I think it will take her time to forgive you, but I know she loves you. Maybe you could voice the same concerns with her the way you just did me, and maybe that’ll bring her around.”

“Thanks, ‘Mione,” Harry said with a small smile.

She waved goodbye and made her way to the entrance hall to meet Draco.

\---**---

Their patrol dragged. Hermione glanced at her watch for the twelfth time, and only an hour had passed. They were currently patrolling the dungeons to Hermione’s dismay. She hated the dungeons. They were dark and cold, and they made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. And to complete the eeriness, it had started storming ten minutes before, and the thunder and lightning strikes echoed through the corridors, startling her each time. 

Draco’s face carried a scowl since they had met up. He opened his mouth multiple time times to speak, and just when Hermione would await snark filled rant, he would close it and say nothing. She currently found him rubbing underneath his eye, wincing as he touched it. Hermione frowned, feeling bad at how bad the outcome had been. “I really didn’t mean to hit you that hard,” she confessed.

“Sure, you didn’t,” growled Draco.

“I’m being honest,” smarted Hermione. “You disrespected me, and it made me angry.”

Draco scoffed. “You were jealous at the sight of me with Astoria. Just admit it.”

“Don’t get your wand in a knot, Malfoy,” Hermione said stiffly. “You are nothing to me. There is _nothing_ for me to be jealous of."

Draco grasped her wrist painfully into his grip, pulling her into a secluded part of a corridor, pushing her against the wall. She could barely see his face it was so dark. “I may be nothing to you,” he whispered harshly, his mouth only inches from hers. “But no matter how much you tell yourself _it’s not what it looks like,_ ” he spat her declaration from the night Harry interrupted them, “only goes to show how much you wish I was something.”

“I don’t want- “

“I know how much you wanted that night. It’s hard to forget how _you_ were the one couldn’t stop trashing your middle against me,” his breath was hot against her neck, and her body began to tremble. Her hands shook, and she could feel herself getting warm in places that she shouldn’t. “I remember how it was you…” he trailed, grasping her hand and putting it over his front. She gasped at the feeling of his hardened length in her hand, his hips bucking so she forcefully caressed him. “How it was you who almost made me come off inside my slacks because of your caresses and your tongue,” he growled.

Her heartbeat dangerously fast in her chest as his mouth made contact with her neck, his tongue trailing teasingly up to her ear lobe, where he began suckling against it, breathing hotly into her ear. “And I remember hot you were…” Draco groaned as he increased the velocity of how fast she caressed him. “Because your knickers were wet with pure desire to sleep with me.”

Hermione’s entire body burned with desire. She felt that in any second, she would melt into his arms, and accept anything he had to give. His lips trailed from her neck up to her cheek. Hermione’s grip on his covered length tightened, causing a desperate groan to escape Draco’s lips, his head falling back. “Why is that your girlfriend can’t make you reach a climax, but I can by merely being in your presence?” Hermione dared, whispering hotly as her lips brushed against his neck.

A strangled cry escaped Draco’s throat. His hand slipped behind the nape of her neck, crashing her lips to his. “Yes…” He hissed against her lips, a whimper of a moan escaping Hermione as her tongue intertwined with his.

Draco was no longer bucking into her hand. It was now Hermione who was caressing him fast in a tight grip. His free hand propped himself against the wall, his fingers digging painfully into the ancient stone, on the verge of losing control. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he could feel the sensation of a climax peaking _. This was ridiculous_ , he thought as he tried to clear his mind. What was is that made him lose control with Granger like this? How was it that her touch could…

“Who’s there?” called a voice from the corridor that they had just come from. Hermione gasped, pushing Draco until they found themselves in a windowless alcove. Hermione frantically whispered a disillusionment charm at the pair of them, along with _Muffilato_ causing them to blend in with the darkness and unable to be heard.

“I know I heard someone down here,” called the voice again, as the person walked down the corridor just to where they had just been. Hermione hid her face into Draco’s chest, and his arms were wrapped around her tightly, holding her close.

The footsteps came closer to where they were, the intruder looking around with the _Lumos_ spell. With a sigh of frustration, the intruder muttered _Nox_ , and went back the way he had come. “That was close,” Hermione sighed with relief, her hands trembling with anxiety. She could only imagine the uproar if someone had found her hot and flustered with Draco Malfoy.

“I wonder who it was,” said Draco scornfully. It didn’t fail that every time that he managed to get her alone, they were always interrupted. “I believe we were in the middle of something,” he growled quietly, trying to pull closer to him.

Hermione scoffed, pushing him away. "Is that all you think about? Make yourself presentable," she snapped, waving her wand to and canceling out the spells she'd used," we need to finish patrols."

\---**---

The remainder of their patrol was quiet except when they had to agree on the number of points that they were going to take away from two third year Ravenclaw’s who were trying to hide dungbombs inside a suit of armor. “Time is up,” said Hermione aloud as she checked her watch to see that it was finally ten o’clock.

They made their way to the seventh floor, Draco leading the way to their living quarters. He appeared relieved at the sight of the familiar surroundings as the door opened to allow them entry. Draco went straight to the bathroom, locking himself inside. Hermione giggled as she heard the shower turn on, seeing the steam start to slip from underneath the door. She knew exactly what he was going to do.

She made her way to her room, discarding her clothes. She pulled on her favorite silk pajama trousers along with a hooded jumper and went back to the sitting room with her History of Magic textbook in hand. She decided to catch up on some reading since she planned to visit the library the next morning in hopes of completing her eighteen-inch essay that was due in two weeks.

She laid back onto the couch, opening the book to its previously bookmarked chapter, and began to read. They were required to write an essay regarding the differences between each Goblin Rebellion that occurred within the last ten centuries, and a lot of reading was required. Hermione could only imagine how behind that Harry and Ron must be, considering both loathed anything that had to do with reading. She read two chapters before tiredness overtook her, causing the book to fall from her lap as she drifted off to sleep.

_It was going to be another wet dream, herself conscious said as if trying to warn her. Flashes of previous encounters began to form in her dream, causing her to groan unintentionally. It began with Harry licking from her navel down to her lady part, his tongue devouring her wet folds until she came violently into his mouth._

_It continued with her body burning with intoxication from the Firewhiskey she drank with Draco in the Room of Requirement. His lips kissed her in a way she had never experienced before. He was skilled with his lips, and even more with his tongue. She remembered going to bed that night, touching herself until she was complimented with such a release that she had to change her sheets at the memory of the feeling of his lips against hers._

Her hand slipped inside her pajama trousers, rubbing against her aroused clit that was burning to release all the accumulated tension she had gathered the past couple of weeks. Her body desired to be touched; it desired penetration, and most of all to reach a mind-shattering climax. She moaned aloud, her hips bucking against the two fingers she’d slipped between her overly wet folds. She thrust her fingers multiple times inside until they slipped out and began rubbing hard over her clit. Her heart beat fast in her chest, her thighs trembling.

_The memory of Draco rubbing his hardened shaft against her while pressed against the armrest caused her to groan louder this time. There was a flash and then he had her against the wall. His covered erection was pushing hard against her knickers, begging to penetrate her tight entrance as he had her against the wall, kissing her neck and begging to take her to bed._

Her free hand slipped underneath her jumper, squeezing her bra covered breast. She pulled down the fabric to pinch at the hardened bud of her nipple, moaning as an electric current fled throughout her body down to clit. It wouldn’t be much longer, she could feel it.

_They were in the dungeons. Even though she was still angry with Draco, the anger was forgotten when his lips met her neck, and her hand caressed his shaft. She caressed him from the outside of course, but she desired to touch him. She wanted to feel him in her hand, to feel the hard rod that had supposedly been unable to release its juices since the night they’d almost had sex. She was sure that if they hadn’t been interrupted, she would have made him come off right there, maybe even more than once._

“Granger,” Draco said. She could hear the desperateness in his voice. “Granger,” he said again. A whimper escaped her lips as the movements of her fingers became faster. She was close, so close.

“Granger, wake up!” Draco said, shaking her by her shoulder.

Hermione’s eyes opened with a snap, swearing aloud at the sight of Draco in an emerald bathrobe, who had apparently been watching her touch herself, for who knows how long. Her face blushed a deep shade of red as she pulled down her jumper and scrambled off the couch, only for Draco to grab her from behind, wrapping his arms tightly around her torso.

“Don’t go,” he begged, his mouth pressed against her head full of curls, near her ear.

“Malfoy,” she sighed, trying to pull away.

“Please,” he pleaded. Hermione cautiously obeyed, staying still in his embrace. One of his arms broke free, his hand pushing her curls off one of her shoulders onto the other. His lips softly kissed against what part of her shoulder that was visible from underneath her jumper, while his free hand made his way to her face, his thumb caressing over her lips. 

Hermione’s teeth unconsciously nibbled against the tip, a low growl sounding from his throat as his tongue began to trail the back of her ear. Hermione shivered, and she could feel a smile come upon his lips as he teased her.

His hand traveled from her lips down her front, until it encountered a small amount of her abdomen that was exposed. His cold fingertips slowly traced over the hemline of her pajama trousers. He felt the muscles of her abdomen tense, and at this point, his hand slowly slipped inside of them, until it met her lace knickers.

“Shhhhh,” he hushed into her ear at her alarming gasp. She tried to pull away, but it was useless. His grip was too tight, and to be honest, she wanted him to touch her. His fingers traced the hemline of her knickers, feeling the slight stubble that covered her intimate part until they slowly slipped inside, sliding down until he could feel the wetness she’d accumulated while dreaming. He did not hesitate at this point. Two of his fingers began to caress the outside of her wet folds, which caused her to stifle out a moan, melting into his arms.

“Mmm,” Draco moaned against her neck, suckling her flesh as the tips of two of his fingers slipped inside of her. Hermione’s thighs tightened around his hand, but he managed to slip out of her and move his attention to her clit, rubbing her juices in circles against the swollen mound.

“M-Malfoy,” she panted, grinding herself against his hand, taking advantage of rubbing her back against his waist, feeling his protruding member press hard against her bum.

“Granger… you’re so wet,” he swallowed hard, his fingers thrusting back into her, all the while his thumb rubbed against her clit. “What were you dreaming about?”

“Ahhh,” she whimpered, her knees starting to give out at the trembling that his touch caused.

“What… were you dreaming about?” He asked again, his fingers shoving deep inside her.

“You!” She cried out, her hands catching her fall against the armrest of the couch as her weak legs gave out.

“Come here,” He said as he pushed off his robe, wearing only a pair of boxers underneath. He sat down onto the couch, pulling her to him so that she stood between his legs. “Take them off,” he practically cried referencing to her trousers.

Hermione’s hands covered her mouth nervously. Draco growled impatiently, hooking his fingers at the hem, pulling them down with ease. She stood there in a pair of black lace knickers. She crossed her legs in an attempt to cover herself, but Draco shook his head. His hands grasped her by the bum, pulling her close to him. His hands moved over her hips, slowly moving up her waist as he pushed up her jumper, making her toss it aside.

Strands of platinum blond hair fell into his face as he looked up at her from the couch. Her arms wrapped nervously over her chest. He broke their gaze as his lips met her abdomen, his teeth grazing down to her navel, his tongue tracing the hem of her knickers just as she’d done to him a few nights before.

Her body shook at his touch. Losing her bashfulness, her hands gripped hard against his shoulders, her nails digging deep into his pale flesh. He hissed against her stomach, his hands navigating over her waist until reaching her bum, grasping it into both hands until they trailed down her thighs. One slowly crept up the middle of her thigh until reaching its destination, fingers rubbing against the wet knickers until pushing them aside, thrusting two of his fingers inside her.

Her head fell back, and her hips began to grind against his fingers. With a swift movement, Draco managed to pull her knickers down to her ankles, losing his mouth against the glistened folds of her slit. Hermione cried out, her hands now gripping his hair tightly into her fists. Draco growled painfully, and took out his pain against her clit, sucking and thrashing his tongue at it violently.

“Malfoy,” she cried, her breathing got faster as he thrust faster into her, his lips sucking against her clit to bring her to her climax. “I can't... I can’t hold it,” she cried out, and with one hard suck of her clit into his mouth, Hermione cried out, trembling as she came into his mouth.

“Granger,” he groaned as he licked her release from his fingers and slit. He kissed his way up to her abdomen, wiping his lips against her stomach. He leaned back onto the couch, pulling her down on top of him.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips meeting his feverously, devouring the taste of herself on his tongue. “You taste delicious,” he whispered into her mouth, causing a blush to creep upon her cheeks.

She slowly started grinding herself while on top of him, and Draco broke the kiss, hissing within content as his head fell back, his hands finding her hips, pushing himself up against her, thrashing against her faster.

“I want to feel you…” He confessed, his voice trembling. Hermione shook her head, and Draco’s eyebrow rose, confused. 

Her hand left his neck and traveled down his stomach until it reached the hem of his boxers. She pulled it away from his waist, causing the hardened shaft to spring out, the length catching her by surprise. She wrapped her hand tightly around it, and slowly began to caress it up and down, causing his eye to close, swearing under his breath. “Let me bring you like this,” she whispered, barely audible.

Hermione continued to rock against him as she caressed his shaft, pumping him faster in her hand, causing him to groan aloud. “Who would have known…” he groaned aloud, bucking faster into her hand. His hands traveled from her hips up to her breast, once he realized that the intensity of her grinds wasn’t be controlled by him.

He unclasped the bra from the front, pushing it down her arms, grasping her mounds tight into his hands, causing her to moan aloud, her grip on him tightening as she pumped him faster. He suckled against her nipples, his teeth grazing over her chest until he was unable to concentrate on anything else, but the climax that was building inside of him.

His hands met her hips once more, grinding her hard against his lap as she pumped him faster in her hand. A cold sweat broke onto his forehead, and his body began to tremble. “Granger,” he said breathless, wrapping his arms tight around her waist, losing his face in between her breasts.

“Come,” she begged. And with a defeated groan, he bucked twice more into her hand, and his juices burst from his tip, littering his chest and his stomach from his fierce release. They both hugged each other, breathless for a minute until Hermione broke their embrace, kissing from his cheek down to his neck, finally using her tongue to clean the mess he’d made. She made her to his shaft, sucking the remaining bit off his still hardened length, causing him to moan in satisfaction.

He finally pulled her back onto the couch, laying her back onto it, propping himself up beside her so that he could look down at her. Her hair was frizzier than ever, and her cheeks were red. Her eyes watched him tiredly, and for the first time ever, he leaned down to kiss her so gently, that a shiver went through the both.

He pulled away, a smirk creeping upon his lips as he watched her bite her lip, watching him nervously. "That…" he said, taking a deep breath, "has to be one of the most erotic things I've done in my life."

Hermione rolled her eyes. “So… this is still the first time that you’ve been able to come off since the other night?”

"Yes," Draco nodded truthfully. "And I have no bloody idea how I'll ever come off again if it's nothing compared to what just happened now."

Hermione chewed against her lips, contentment invading her ego at having heard him boast about the moment they had just shared. A panic began to creep into her mind, but she did her best to push it away. For once, she wanted not to worry about the consequences, but to enjoy the moment. She would deal with it later. She wasn’t going to let it ruin her mood.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoys this. I started this story many years back, and never managed to finish it. I lost the rough drafts to all of my stories that I was writing and finally gave up on them. I've managed to get some ideas together for this one, and I really want to finish it. I don't have a beta so please excuse any grammar errors that you may come across. I'm rereading the chapters three or four times to check for errors, and I'm also using Grammarly. FLAMES, PM'S, and REVIEWS are extremely welcome. I hope to hear from you guys! If you would like to follow me in FF, https://www.fanfiction.net/~greeneyedshadow. <3


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